Emperor Falls

Emperor Falls is located along the Berg Lake trail in Mount Robson Provincial Park. From the junction of Highways 5 and 16 in Tete Jaune Cache, follow the Yellowhead Highway (16) east for 16.3 kilometers to Mount Robson Meadows and turn left onto Kinney Lake Road, then follow it to the trailhead at its end in another 2 kilometers. Expect to encounter a crowded parking area, the Berg Lake Trail is the most popular hike in the Canadian Rockies. The viewpoint for Emperor Falls is accessed from a short spur trail which branches from the Berg Lake Trail at the 14.8 kilometer mark. The falls can also be seen across the canyon from a viewpoint along the trail about 3/4 of a kilometer before the spur. The first half of the hike to Kinney Lake is relatively flat and easy, but after the second crossing of the Robson River at Kinney Flat it gets more difficult, and after the fourth bridge at White Falls the grade increases considerably. Day hiking to the falls is possible for strong hikers, but camping at one of the backcountry campgrounds in the area is the recommended course of action for those wishing to proceed past White Falls.Emperor Falls is the uppermost of waterfall along the Robson River as it cascades down the Valley of a Thousand Falls from Berg Lake to Kinney Lake in Mount Robson Provincial Park. The falls plunge a sheer 142 feet over a cliff at the very base of Mount Robson, and in the process slams into a small protruding ledge which causes the river to explode outward in an absolutely massive firehose of water that shoots out as much as 60-80 feet from the face of the cliff in a huge arc. The volume of mist generated from the falls both exploding outward from the cliff and slamming into the bedrock at the base of the falls is absolutely immense. Visitors to Emperor Falls are virtually guaranteed to get drenched, which is often a very welcome refreshment after the long hike up the Berg Lake Trail (especially on a hot summer day). At the base of Emperor Falls the Robson River has carved itself into a very geologically interesting behavior. A deep canyon runs downstream from Emperor Falls for over a kilometer all the way to the top of White Falls, and it's clear that at one time the full volume of the river entered the canyon immediately below Emperor Falls as what might have been considered a lower tier to the falls. However the relentless pounding of the river has over time carved a narrow trough into the bedrock such that the river diverts away from the canyon and now flows parallel to the length of the canyon in a shallow trough, in some places just meters away from the edge of the cliff. The river follows this trough for about 8/10 of a kilometer until it was able to breach the edge of the canyon, where it now plunges back into the canyon proper as Falls of the Pool. Should the height of land at the base of Emperor Falls ever erode or cleave away, the river may ultimately re-occupy the canyon and re-form a lower tier to Emperor Falls, which will cause Falls of the Pool to case to exist. Its possible that during periods of extreme flooding the river might partially breach the height of land as well, but given that the basin upstream of Emperor Falls isn't terribly large and relies almost entirely on the melt from glaciers rather than precipitation, this may not be a realistic scenario. We have been unable to find stream flow data for the Robson River, so our estimated volume for this waterfall is purely a guess based on visual comparisons to other rivers which we have a better grasp on flow rates for. Given that at this point in its length the Robson is fed by three very large glaciers, the volume of the falls should be assumed to be consistent and heavy for the entire season in which it's accessible.