Lower Rock Creek Falls

Lower Rock Creek Falls is the tallest, and final of the numerous waterfalls along Rock Creek. The falls plunge 53-feet into a large pool, flanked with constantly crumbling cliff sides, and evidence of practically immeasurable geologic instability. A layer of volcanic ash is plainly visible stratified above the layer of conglomerate on the far side of the gorge. Also of note is the pitch of the conglomerate formation, angling down towards the Columbia River. This would point to the formation having been formed by the landslide that occurred when the south faces of Greenleaf Peak and Table Mountain collapsed and dammed the Columbia River - an event that is thought to have formed both the cascades at Cascade Locks, and the basis for the legend of the Bridge of the Gods. Compounding the bedrock formation, in the last century this waterfall has changed dramatically. The falls formerly consisted of a pair of cascades over a rounded wedge of the conglomerate formation. Some time between 1940 and 1990 (it isn't clear exactly when), an event took place which allowed the creek to erode the canyon considerably deeper - one possibility is that a lava tube underneath the streambed collapsed, and the earth above it fell in, allowing the creek to bite into the ground further and erode the canyon deeper and wider, and migrate the falls further upstream. The result is the current fall, plunging into a deep pool, and framed by a rather desolate gorge. As a further testament to the unstable nature of this area, the east wall of the canyon started sliding into the creek in the fall of 2006, and during the devastating floods in 2006, the creek took a huge chunk of the hillside down and partially buried the canyon. Reports seem to indicate that the falls had been reduced to half its previous height as a result of this landslide, however as of May 2009 if the falls had been buried at all it no longer is as the pool below the falls is intact and larger than ever. Though this waterfall is located on land owned by the city of Stevenson, it isn't clear whether there is officially sanctioned public access. Upon last visit to the falls there didn't appear to be any explicit prohibition of access to the falls via user-created paths, but there is no way to access the waterfall without crossing private property. Please heed any No Trespassing or Posted signs you may encounter and do not attempt to visit the falls unless it is clear that public access is welcomed and allowed.The earliest photographs we have seen of this waterfall date back to the late 1930s, but given the development in Stevenson earlier in the 20th century, we have to believe this waterfall was known well before that. The name, while generic, seems to be historically accepted.