Waterfall Wednesday #5

North Falls

While this 13-foot waterfall isn't the highest in the park, it sure can be the loudest. Between early-Winter and mid-Spring, you can hear the booming noise of the waterfall pounding the rocks below it from a quarter mile away at the North Falls Viewpoint. With a short trail from the North Falls Parking Area, this waterfall is most likely one of the top five visited waterfalls within Silver Falls State Park. if you do decide to walk down to the cavern below North Falls, just remember that pets are not allowed on this section of trail.

As you walk behind the waterfall, you can see gaping holes in the rock, and if you look closely enough, you can see the sedimentary rock of the Vantage Interbed. Be careful when walking behind the waterfall as there still may not have any railing and the ground can be quite slippery.

The Geology of the North Falls

Below the trail is one solid layer of basalt that is 140-feet thick that came through the area between 16.5 and 15.6 million years ago. Above that layer, the part that has been hollowed out, is a sedimentary unit called the Vantage Interbed. Two more layers of rock that are at the top of North Falls are from basalt lava flows that came through the region between 15.2 and 14.5 million years ago. During the Ice Ages, water surged over this waterfall, creating the two gouge marks in the ledge, and several more within 40 feet upstream from this waterfall.

The History of the Upper North Falls

Several artifacts from the Kalapuya Tribe have been found under the cavern at North Falls. Perhaps the natives made a yearly pilgrimage to honor the creek. Or perhaps they were just dropped by a hunting party.

If you feel like viewing the North Falls, make sure you take appropriate gear if you go in winter, as there could be ice along the trail, and always check the Silver Falls State Park Website for information about trail closures during Winter. Until next time, get outside and enjoy hiking to one of the many waterfalls in the great Oregon Outdoors.