Name of Waterfall

Larrupin Falls

Description

Larrupin Falls is the second of four major waterfalls along St. Andrews Creek as it drops below the Westside Road towards the Puyallup River. The falls are largely unknown and he only photograph I had ever seen before visiting the falls myself was a scan of a Barnes photo from the early 1900s. In appearance Larrupin Falls is almost an exact copy of Denman Falls - the creek begins by sliding then pauses briefly before hurtling 137 feet off an undercut cliff with a fantastically defined columnar basalt. Unfortunately the falls are difficult to reach and even harder to cleanly photograph. When I went after the falls, I was shocked to find whats left of a very well defined but severely overgrown trail that leads downstream from Denman Falls to the other falls on the creek. It appears that the National Park Service abandoned the trail decades ago because while its obvious where the trail is / was at some points, much of whats left is impossible to follow due to fallen trees, thick undergrowth and slides. It would be great to see this trail restored to its original state, but chances of that happening are slim to none.Larrupin (or Larapin), according to Urban Dictionary is a word that initially meant "a good, sound beating" but later evolved to be an exclamation (usually associated with food). I could see either meaning applying to the falls, but I suspect its the latter. The falls were originally spelled "Larapin" but pronounced the same.

Other Names

[]

Magnitude

42.67

IWC Rating (International Waterfall Classification)

1.42

Total Height (ft)

136

Tallest Drop

136

Number of Drops

1

Average Width

10

Average High Volume (Cubic ft per second)

50 cfs

Average Low Volume (Cubic ft per second)

0 cfs

Pitch

90 degrees

Run (ft)

10

Watershed or Feeder Stream

Puyallup River St. Andrews Creek