Vortex Falls

Vortex Falls is essentially a collective of waterfalls found along the East Fork of Big Blowout Creek where several streams come together in the same place. The main fork of the creek stair steps down a narrow trough, joined about halfway down by a much smaller tributary cascading in from the left. About two-thirds of the way down the falls a third, more significant tributary stream enters from the left and veils down the side of the gully, joining the main stream about 20-vertical feet above the bottom of the falls. At the point where the two larger streams merge the creek sheets down a steep bedrock bowl, swirling into a tiny pocket in the rock much like water being flushed down a toilet. While it is more than likely that the two tributary streams are seasonal, and the smaller of the two will certainly run dry by mid summer, if not both, the main branch of the creek is big enough that it should retain some volume of water throughout the year – though during the late summer months it will without a doubt be just a trickle. Though at a relatively low elevation, the Middle Fork drainage receives a significant amount of snow in the winter, so it may be that the falls are not accessible while flowing at their optimal levels (though when this is will vary from year to year), but from April to June it will appear quite respectable.This waterfall is not known to have been documented before and we know of no names applied to it. We’ve proposed the name of Vortex Falls for the fact that the three streams all converge at the same point, swishing and swirling down a twisted chute at the base of the falls into a narrow little grotto.