Tamolitch Falls

From the junction of Highways 20 and 126 (approximately 70 miles east of I-5 in Albany via Highway 20, or 85 miles east of I-5 in Salem via Highway 22), follow Highway 126 south for about 10 miles and turn right (east) onto NFR-730, signed for Trailbridge Campground and Smith Boat Launch. Follow Road 730, bearing right after crossing the river, for another half mile to the parking area for the Blue Pool segment of the McKenzie River Trail and park. Hike the McKenzie River Trail upstream for a moderately easy (though somewhat rocky) 2 miles to the viewpoints overlooking Tamolitch Pool.Tamolitch Falls is the third and final of the three major waterfalls found along the McKenzie River near Santiam Pass and Clear Lake. Unlike its upstream siblings Sahalie and Koosah Falls, Tamolitch Falls is anything but consistent for a multitude of reasons and visitors will more often than not be greeted with a completely dry waterfall. The falls are partially de-watered by the natural behavior of the McKenzie River upstream of the falls. The river encounters a lava flow which originated in Belknap Crater and poured into the bottom of the valley about a mile downstream of Koosah Falls. This extremely porous rock results in a considerable volume of the river seeping underground only to re-emerge as a full-size river via a spring at the base of Tamolitch Falls, which is known as Tamolitch Pool - or more commonly Blue Pool. Were it allowed to flow unchecked, the falls would still flow naturally for at least 5-6 months of the year, though greatly reduced involume from what flows over Koosah Falls. However just downstream from Koosah Falls the Carmen Reservoir diverts the majority of the river into the Smith-Carmen Hydroelectric system which effectively removes the portion of the river which would naturally flow over Tamolitch Falls during the spring and early summer months. Only when the river exceeds the capacity of the Smith-Carmen diversion will the falls potentially flow. The Forest Service indicates that the river needs to be running at at least 900 cubic feet per second at the outlet of Clear Lake for 3 days straight before Tamolitch Falls will be flowing consistently - which does occasionally happen, but not at all frequently based on the river gauge at Clear Lake. In 2017 the Eugene Water & Electric Board, who operates the Smith-Carmen Hydro system, performed maintenance on the Carmen Reservoir diversion tunnels and in doing so allowed the full unchecked flow of the McKenzie River to flow over Tamolitch Falls for about two weeks. We surveyed the falls during this time in order to obtain pictures of the fall in as close to its natural state as possible, but this is assumed to be an exceptionally rare occurrence and not at all the sort of conditions that visitors should expect to encounter with any regularity. Since the falls are usually dry, and given the inconsistent flow rate when it does manage to flow, we are not able to provide all the necessary data to determine an accurate rating for the falls.Tamolitch is a Chinook word meaning "bucket", quite obviously and fittingly meant to describe the very much bucket shape of Tamolitch Pool.