Barron Falls

Barron Falls is a massive cascading waterfall along the Barron River just outside the city of Cairns in Queensland. The falls consist of four main parts, the largest of which is a 120 meter wide, 300 meter long cascade which drops about 105 meters (350 feet). The falls are usually claimed to stand 260 meters (853 feet) tall from top to bottom, however this seems to be yet another case of the height of the falls being attributed to the total generating head of the associated hydroelectric system. The first generating station, built and activated in 1935, operated with a head of 125 meters (410 feet), but it is unclear whether the tailrace was situated at the base of the main part of the falls or at the very bottom of the lowermost drop, and in that regard we are unclear whether a total height of 125 meters is actually accurate. Because the adjacent hydropower system draws off a considerable volume of the Barron River, the falls only flow with force during the wet season. For much of the year the falls are reduced to just a trickle and in droughts may even run dry. The existing Barron Falls Power Station is in the gorge well below the terminus of the falls. Google Earth's elevation profile supports our theory of the 260 meter height figure being that of the hydropotential rather than the height of the falls.The falls were named for Thomas Henry Bowman Barron, the Chief Clerk of Police in Brisbane in the 1860s.