Downing Creek Falls

Downing Creek Falls is the second of at least three significant waterfalls known to occur along the stout length of spring-fueled Downing Creek. The falls drop 32 feet over a distinctly cube-shaped outcrop of basalt, pouring in three to four side-by-side channels (depending on how much extra snow melt water is present), with as many as a dozen small streams of water dribbling out of the adjacent cliff and falling parallel to the falls in tandem. Though the falls aren't terribly tall, the creek is large enough to produced a consistent cloud of mist at the base of the falls, which helps ensure the forest and cliffs all around the falls are liberally covered head to toe in a thick blanket of moss. Downing Creek is a remarkably consistent stream with a deceivingly small drainage basin. The majority of the creek emerges from springs about one quarter mile upstream from the falls, and flows all year long with very little fluctuation as a result. Further upstream along the drainage is another waterfall which only flows during periods of prolonged snow melt in the spring months, but the upper section of the creek otherwise sinks into the porous ground and the upper falls dries out as a result.