Skip to content
Cascadyas
EN

Mexico Mexico Waterfall

El Salto

One of the waterfalls of Mexico.

When to go

El Salto seen from above (Sentinel-2)
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30

In numbers.

0.42m³/s

Average flow

estimate

Jul
Sep–Oct

Best months

1,472m

Elevation

The water at El Salto, month by month

It roars in September.

The fullest months: September. The thinnest: from December to May.

  1. 0.1 m³/sJan
  2. 0.0 m³/sFeb
  3. 0.1 m³/sMar
  4. 0.2 m³/sApr
  5. 0.3 m³/sMay
  6. 0.4 m³/sJun
  7. 0.7 m³/sJul
  8. 0.6 m³/sAug
  9. 2.0 m³/sSep
  10. 1.3 m³/sOct
  11. 0.6 m³/sNov
  12. 0.1 m³/sDec
high water best months to go

From about 0.04 m³/s in the lowest month to 2.0 m³/s in the highest. Best months to go, with plenty of water and pleasant days: July and from September to October.

Estimate: the timing comes from rain, snowmelt and evaporation (NASA POWER, 1991–2020); the amounts from the river model of HydroATLAS (WaterGAP, 1971–2000). Dams upstream can change the real flow.

Rock climbing area in Nuevo León, Mexico

El Salto is a waterfall in Mexico. It lies within Parque Nacional Cumbres de Monterrey.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there.

Plan your visit

Stay, explore and get there

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

Seen from the sky.

8 × 8 km of cloud-free satellite image, with what OpenStreetMap knows around the falls.

El Salto seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 2 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 8 × 8 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

The river through the falls
1,300 m1,350 m1,400 mEl Salto-1.5 km-1 km-0.5 km0+0.5 km+1 km+1.5 km← upstreamdownstream →

The line follows the river as mapped in OpenStreetMap; heights from the 30 m Copernicus model, which smooths narrow drops — the published height of the falls is the one above.

What is around.

  • —viewpoints
  • —waymarked walking routes
  • —car parks
  • —swimming spots
  • —picnic sites
  • —toilets
  • —information boards and visitor centres
  • —bus stops within 1 km
  • —other named waterfalls within 4 km
  • —caves
  • 2campsitesJardín de piedra, Vitro Parque El Manzano Don Sotero
  • 8hotels, B&Bs and huts within 6 kmHotel y Cabaña de Santiago, La Aldea Cabañas y área de camping, Rincón de San Genaro and 5 more
  • 2restaurants and cafés within 3 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, up to 2 km around the falls (unless noted). A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Towns nearby

  • Santiago9.5 km in a straight line
  • Bosques de San Pedro24 km in a straight line

Weather

The weather, month by month.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon °C161923272930292925231917
Night °C2471114161616151163
Rain & snow (mm)2019294164689663197642620
Wet days44561011101015843
Sun h/day5.66.37.07.47.69.89.79.87.57.46.35.6

Long-term averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, with temperatures carried to the height of the falls (1,472 m) at −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Not a forecast.

Recent years

Wet years and dry years

Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A wet season above 100 % usually means a fuller waterfall.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020145%23%65%121%135%143%209%31%59%4%2%25%
202155%24%20%77%114%185%106%101%22%141%181%85%
2022103%53%0%77%39%71%6%150%104%62%125%23%
20239%6%103%237%199%25%33%40%24%172%470%88%
202447%187%83%66%32%440%113%51%69%86%19%152%
202560%30%65%7%134%85%56%77%78%86%92%50%

130% wetter than usual 70% drier than usual

Compare with the waterfalls nearby.

El Salto

Mexico

  • —Height
  • 0.42 m³/sAverage flow
  • Jul, Sep–OctBest months

Cola de Caballo

Mexico

  • —Height
  • —Average flow
  • Sep–OctBest months

See the guide

About these numbers

Names, height, width, riverWikidata (Q16938801) · CC0
River flow and catchmentHydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Relief, river profile, 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Paths, viewpoints, parking© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves or dark skies?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.You are here
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit
cavesCavernyasEvery cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Coming soonVisit
dark skiesDarkskyasWhere the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Coming soonVisit