Falls Creek Falls is among the largest and most powerful waterfalls in southern Washington. Fed by an extensive network of springs and streams originating on the Red Mountain plateau - itself a product of the volcanic eruptions which created nearby Big Lava Field - Falls Creek sends a considerable volume of water hurtling 335 feet over its valley's headwall in three distinct steps. The upper tier veils 109 feet in a broad fan-shaped fall which skips down the initial tier of the cliff. Shortly after, the creek spreads out to a breadth of over 100-feet across a gently domed ledge and plunges 135 feet in several segments. After gathering through a cluster of large boulders which have fallen off the adjacent cliffs, the third tier leaps a final 91-feet into a narrow amphitheater gorge. Shortly downstream of the falls are a series of sliding cascades as well, though views of which are harder to come by (we did not include these cascades with the height of the falls).
The height of Falls Creek Falls has been the subject of debate for quite some time. Guidebooks initially cited the falls as dropping about 250 feet, and this seamed reasonable for the most part. In 1998 the USGS revised the Termination Point 7-1/2 inch quadrangle and added distinct notations to the marker for the falls, citing a top and bottom elevation which suggested that it was measured by the USGS, however these numbers came out to be only 207 feet. In 2014 we were finally able to properly survey the falls, and found it to be considerably taller than any previous estimate had suggested. The discrepancy with the USGS figure may have come from a measurement of only the two lower tiers of the falls (which total 226 feet), since the upper tier is not plainly visible from the primary viewpoint.
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SOURCES
Image: Curtis Barnard
www.oregonhikers.org
www.waterfallsnorthwest.com
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