Multnomah Falls is a waterfall located on Multnomah Creek in the Columbia River Gorge, east of Troutdale, between Corbett and Dodson, Oregon, United States. The waterfall is accessible from the Historic Columbia River Highway and Interstate 84. Spanning two tiers on basalt cliffs, it is the tallest waterfall in the state of Oregon at in height. The Multnomah Creek Bridge, built in 1914, crosses below the falls, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The land surrounding the falls was developed by Simon Benson in the early-twentieth century, with a pathway, viewing bridge, and adjacent lodge being constructed in 1925. The Multnomah Falls Lodge and the surrounding footpaths at the falls were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. Contemporarily, the state of Oregon maintains a switchback trail that ascends to a talus slope above the falls, and descends to an observation deck that overlooks the falls' edge. The falls attract over two million visitors each year, making it the most-visited natural recreation site in the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

Height

Multnomah Falls is the tallest waterfall in the state of Oregon. It is credited by a sign at the site of the falls, and by the United States Forest Service, as the second tallest year-round waterfall in the United States. However, there has been some skepticism surrounding this distinction, as Multnomah Falls is listed as the 156th tallest waterfall in the United States by the World Waterfall Database (this site does not distinguish between seasonal and year-round waterfalls). The World Waterfall Database disputes claims that Multnomah Falls is the fourth-tallest waterfall in the United States, which has been claimed in such sources as the Encyclopedia of World Geography (2013).

Water source

Underground springs from Larch Mountain are the year-round source of water for the waterfall, augmented by spring runoff from the mountain's snowpack and rainwater during the other seasons. This spring is the source of Multnomah Creek.

Benson Lake

Multnomah Creek drains into Benson Lake approximately 1,300 feet west of the bottom of the falls.

History

Formation and early history

The waterfall formed around 15,000 years ago According to the creation story from the Multnomah tribe (from whom the falls take their name), the waterfall was formed after a young woman sacrificed herself to the Great Spirit to save a Multnomah village from a plague by jumping from the cliff, and the Multnomah peoples were saved. After her death, water began to flow from above the cliff, creating the waterfall.

The falls were noted in the journals of explorers William Clark and Meriwether Lewis during their expedition through the Columbia River Gorge in 1805. In an October 30 journal entry, Lewis notes:

The origin of the falls' naming is unclear; scholar Lewis A. McArthur, in Oregon Geographic Names, suggested that S. G. Reed, a prominent mercantile clerk in Portland and native of Massachusetts, may have been the first to apply the name with the idea of popularizing sites along the Columbia River for steamboat excursions.

| nearest_city = Cascade Locks, Oregon

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| built = 1915 and included a timber bowstring truss bridge that spanned the falls at the present bridge's location. This bridge, named the Benson Footbridge, spans the lower falls at a height of , and provides an expansive view of the upper falls.

On Labor Day 1915, Benson donated over of land which included most of the falls as well as nearby Wahkeena Falls, to the city of Portland.

Late that year, architect A. E. Doyle, who designed Portland's Meier & Frank Building, was commissioned by the city to design the Multnomah Falls Lodge, which was completed in 1925. The lodge, built in a "Cascadian" architectural style using native split fieldstone laid irregularly. The building features a steeply pitched cedar-shingled gable roof with dormers and large chimneys. The falls are the most-visited natural recreation area in the Pacific Northwest, with over two million annual visitors.

On January 9, 2014, a falling rock damaged a portion of the bridge walkway and concrete railing, leading the Forest Service to close the bridge until repairs were completed.

In September 2017, the lodge was threatened by the Eagle Creek Fire in the Columbia River Gorge, which resulted in the lodge and fall access being closed to the public. The lodge reopened on November 29, 2017, though the U.S. Forest Service announced that footpath access to the waterfall would remain closed until an indeterminate date due to concerns over landslides. The trail to the Benson Bridge reopened in June 2018, while the remaining trails along upper Multnomah Creek and to Wahkeena Falls, the top of Larch Mountain, Devil's Rest, and Angel's Rest were repaired and reopened in November 2018.

Multnomah Creek Bridge

A five-ribbed spandrel bridge, the Multnomah Creek Bridge, was built in 1914 to bring what is now the Historic Columbia River Highway across Multnomah Creek below the falls. It is long and is a contributing structure in the highway's listing on the National Register of Historic Places, and in its designation as a National Historic Landmark.

See also

  • List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Oregon
  • List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon
  • List of waterfalls
  • List of waterfalls in Oregon
  • List of waterfalls by type
  • Yosemite Falls

References

Works cited

  • Multnomah Falls - United States Forest Service
  • Multnomah Falls - Oregon Tourism Commission
  • Multnomah Falls photographs - Library of Congress
  • Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) documentation, filed under Troutdale, Multnomah County, OR:
  • Native American Legend: Coyote and Multnomah Falls