Lower Cora Falls

Big Creek is one of a number of small streams which tumble off of Sawtooth Ridge, located just southwest of Mount Rainier, in a series of small waterfalls. As the stream descends from Cora Lake perched in a basin along the base of the ridge, it drops over waterfalls which get progressively smaller as the stream descends. The final fall, Lower Cora Falls, drops 41 feet over a jagged step in the valley which is almost completely obscured from existence by the thick surrounding forest - visitors to the area would be excused for not assuming this waterfall to even exist, despite the waterfall being located just a few hundred feet from a road. Below the falls the creek flows through a short glade filled with Devils Club before meandering through thick forest. While being fed by Cora Lake helps to sustain the flow of Big Creek, the drainage basin upstream of the falls covers an area of just three-quarters of a square mile. The moderately high elevation of the basin - ranging from about 3500 to 4800 feet - will help to ensure significant snow fall in the winter months, and a more steady melt during the spring and summer, but the naturally small size of the basin will likewise ensure that the stream is consistently modest (at best) and will be reduced to just a trickle by mid to late summer, and may dry out entirely by September.