Lower Crater Creek Falls

Crater Creek saves its best for last as it forms an explosive 85 foot slide-to-plunge style waterfall as its final major descent down the flood-scoured canyon. The falls begin by sliding over exposed basalt formations which probably date back to the High Cascades volcanic period, the gray-black color of which stands in unique contrast to the bright red formations seen at the other waterfalls upstream. The falls get steeper and steeper down the slide and upon reaching the edge of the bedrock, veil vertically for the rest of the descent. Visitors to this waterfall will notice the heavily scoured and eroded landscape around the falls, probably the most stark evidence of a substantial flood which occurred in 1966 when a large chunk of an unnamed glacier calved into Moraine Lake on the east face of Broken Top and sent a large wave over the natural dam, causing it to breach. The lake partially drained, lowering its level by 14 feet and sending 50 million gallons of water down the Crater Creek drainage, scouring out everything in its path. The breadth of exposed bedrock where the falls occur, as well as the wasting along the edge of the canyon shows just how much water was released during the event. Crater Creek is partially diverted into the Crater Creek ditch about a mile and a half upstream of the falls. Late in the summer months the volume of water actually reaching this waterfall can be greatly reduced due to this diversion, but the falls should rarely run dry.