Multnomah Falls was on our itinerary for the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Not the best time to try to visit, but it was then or never. Multnomah Falls is on the Columbia River Gorge about an hour west of Portland. Its water flows into the Columbia about 1/2 mile from the base of the falls. As you can see, it is a two tier drop with combined measurement of 620 feet, highest in Oregon. The USFS sign says it is the second highest US "year-round" waterfall. This claim was from a decades old promotion of the falls and nearby lodge. The World Waterfall Database ranks it 154th in the US.
My photo took patience. There were thousands of people in the area. See what it really looked like, below.
An interesting story dates to 1995. A wedding party was on the bridge right above the splash pool for the first drop when a 40 by 20 foot, 400 ton rock dislodged from rock face near the top and fell into the pool. A 70 foot wave drenched the wedding party and injured several.
Before visiting Multnomah, we hiked to Wahkeena Falls nearby. Parking was easier at it but we had to hike a mile between them. On our return hike, the road below was at a standstill for about a mile.
No comments:
Post a Comment