Diablo Falls

Diablo Falls is the final and the largest of a series of waterfalls along the unnamed branch of Coal Creek which originates in Devil Lake north of the Mountain Loop Highway near Big Four. The falls drop 242 feet in two distinct steps with a small pool perhaps 20 feet in diameter between, and as such when viewed from below the falls appear to be a more or less continuous drop. The upper tier accounts for approximately one-quarter of the height of the falls, dropping in a narrow horsetail type drop into the small pothole style basin separating the two tiers. The lower drop then exits the pool in a a narrow veiling style fall, about three-quarters of which lands on a short ledge which funnels the whole creek into a narrower column of water for the duration of the descent. The stream producing this waterfall drains from an area approximately one square mile in size. The stream is shown on maps as originating from Devils Lake, but as the lake is only about 4.3 acres in size, it isn't thought to be a significant contributor to the volume of the stream, and instead most of the flow is dictated by snow melt or precipitation in the basin. Because of this, once the winter snow pack has melted off the volume of the stream will be reduced considerably, potentially to just a trickle in the late summer months.