Burnt Creek Falls

Burnt Creek Falls is a low volume but fairly substantial waterfall along its namesake creek in lower North Umpqua River corridor near Idleyld Park. The falls drop 125 feet over a significant cliff band, then cascade steeply down talus for another hundred feet before the stream passes beneath a degrading gravel road. When surveyed in 2019 the waterfall could be partially viewed from the road just downstream from the descent, however numerous trees between the base of the falls and the road obstructed the view and necessitated a steep scramble to the base of the falls in order to properly survey the feature. Following the Archie Creek fire in September of 2020 which severely burned a large portion of the North Umpqua River valley, this may no longer be the case and the waterfall very possibly may be clearly visible from the road now. Burnt Creek is a relatively small stream at this point along its length, draining from a basin covering approximately two-thirds of a square mile in area. Almost the entire basin occurs above the 3,000 foot elevation level, so it should receive a modest amount of snow in the winter, and ample rainfall during the wet season. When surveyed in May of 2019 the flow was not more than 3-5 cubic feet per second, and it seems likely that by the mid summer months the flow will be reduced to just a trickle, if not dry out entirely.This waterfall is not known to have any sort of widely recognized name, however upon surveying the falls in 2019 a sign was noted adjacent to the road labeling the waterfall as Ramsay Falls. Whether this is a locally adopted colloquial name or just the work of a local resident applying their own title is not known.