Aerial view of a winding river beneath a long sandstone escarpment surrounded by vast, remote woodland on the Mitchell Plateau.

    Aerial view across the Mitchell Plateau, Kimberley, Western Australia.

    Mitchell Plateau

    Mitchell Plateau is a remote sandstone upland in the North Kimberley, defined by deeply incised rivers, seasonal waterfalls and extensive tropical savanna. The plateau includes Mitchell Falls and Mertens Falls, where major watercourses descend through layered sandstone into gorges and pools surrounded by largely undeveloped wilderness. The terrain transitions between broad elevated surfaces, rocky escarpments, river corridors and deeply cut gorges. Open woodland and savanna cover much of the plateau, while permanent pools and seasonal waterways support denser vegetation within sheltered valleys and drainage systems. Seasonal rainfall strongly influences the landscape, transforming dry river channels into powerful waterfalls and replenishing pools before the dry season gradually exposes sandstone, open woodland and increasingly isolated watercourses.

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    Gallery

    Aerial view of a winding river beneath a long sandstone escarpment surrounded by vast, remote woodland on the Mitchell Plateau.

    Aerial view across the Mitchell Plateau, Kimberley, Western Australia.

    Vast woodland, rocky escarpments and rugged terrain stretch across the remote Mitchell Plateau, viewed from a light aircraft.

    Aerial view across the remote Mitchell Plateau, Kimberley, Western Australia.

    Aerial view of white birds flying above the Mitchell River as it winds through the rugged landscape of the Mitchell Plateau.

    Mitchell River winding across the Mitchell Plateau, Kimberley, Western Australia…

    Aerial view of the Mitchell River winding through rugged sandstone and remote woodland as it flows toward Mitchell Falls.

    Mitchell River flowing across the Mitchell Plateau, Kimberley, Western Australia…

    Aerial view of the Mitchell River winding through rugged sandstone and remote savannah woodland on the Mitchell Plateau.

    Mitchell River winding across the Mitchell Plateau, Kimberley, Western Australia…

    Aerial view of sandstone gorges, waterways and waterfalls across Mitchell Plateau in the Kimberley, Western Australia.

    Aerial view across Mitchell Plateau, including Mitchell Falls and Big Mertens Fa…

    Aerial view of Mitchell Falls cascading through multiple sandstone tiers and pools, with Big Mertens Falls visible upstream in the distance.

    Mitchell Falls and Big Mertens Falls from the air, Kimberley, Western Australia.

    Final cascade of Mitchell Falls flowing into a deep turquoise pool enclosed by rugged sandstone cliffs and native vegetation.

    Lower pool beneath Mitchell Falls on the Mitchell Plateau, Kimberley, Western Au…

    Key POIs in Mitchell Plateau

    Mertens Falls

    water feature — 1.2 km

    Mitchell Falls

    water feature — 0.6 km

    Nearby Places

    View all on map

    Hunter River

    water feature — 37.5 km

    Kimberley

    Prince Frederick Harbour

    area district — 50.8 km

    Kimberley

    King Cascades

    water feature — 98.8 km

    Kimberley

    North Kimberley

    area district — 103.7 km

    Kimberley

    Overview

    Mitchell Plateau forms part of the ancient sandstone country of the North Kimberley, where elevated tablelands have been dissected by rivers and prolonged erosion. Watercourses cut through the plateau before descending across escarpments, creating waterfalls, rocky gorges and interconnected pools within the broader upland landscape. Mitchell Falls forms the plateau's most prominent waterfall system, descending through a sequence of sandstone tiers, while nearby Mertens Falls occupies another deeply incised drainage corridor. Beyond these concentrated features, extensive savanna, rocky uplands and river valleys reveal the much larger scale of the plateau. The visual structure of the region is defined by the relationship between horizontal sandstone country and deeply cut waterways. Waterfalls and pools create concentrated features within the expansive plateau, while elevated and aerial perspectives reveal patterns of escarpment, river, woodland and exposed rock.

    Key photography subjects

    • Mitchell Falls and multi-tiered waterfall systems
    • Mertens Falls and sandstone river gorges
    • Sandstone escarpments and dissected plateau landscapes
    • Rocky pools, rivers and seasonal waterways
    • Tropical savanna and open woodland
    • Aerial patterns of rivers, rock and vegetation
    • Wet-season water flow and changing seasonal landscapes

    Workshops in Mitchell Plateau

    No upcoming workshops scheduled for Mitchell Plateau at this time.

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