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.
Structure
The falls drops in two major steps, split into an upper falls of and a lower falls of , with a gradual 9 foot (3 m) drop in elevation between the two, so the total height of the waterfall is conventionally given as . The two drops are due to a zone of more easily eroded basalt at the base of the upper falls.
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.
History
Formation and early history
The waterfall formed around 15,000 years ago at the end of a hanging valley, and was created by the Missoula floods. 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 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.
Post-Reconstruction development
Beginning in 1884, the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company operated a stop at Multnomah Falls on their railway, which spanned from Portland to Pasco, Washington; this stop continued to operate until World War II, and included a timber bowstring truss bridge that spanned the falls at the present bridge's location. Around 1891, the bridge was reinforced, but was dismantled in 1899.
On January 28, 1915, Samuel C. Lancaster recommended to the Progressive Business Men's Club of Portland that a trail be built from the base of Multnomah Falls extending to the top of Larch Mountain. The Club raised several hundred dollars to finance the trail, and Portland financier Simon Benson and his son Amos S. Benson pledged an additional $3,000. The United States Forest Service appropriated a total of $1,500 and agreed to survey and build the trail in addition to the lookout on Larch Mountain. Benson financed Italian stonemasons to construct a bridge at the falls to allow visitor access. This bridge, named the Benson Footbridge, spans the lower falls at a height of , and provides an expansive view of the upper falls.
