Our Nation's Second Highest Year-Round Waterfall

— Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area —

Visited by over two million people a year, Multhnomah Falls is the second-highest year-round waterfall in the United States and one of 77 on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge. Multnomah Creek, created by underground springs from Larch Mountain, feeds the falls as it plunges off steep basalt cliffs The water flow varies, but is most spectacular in the winter and spring when at its fullest the falls plummet 543 feet to the upper plunge pool, descend another 69 feet, plus an additional 8 feet in between to total a 620-foot-fall! As our nation's western cities boomed in the late 1880s, people looked for ways to escape the bustle and overcrowding. Portland residents—and eventually visitors from all over the country—traveled to the Columbia River Gorge for its scenic beauty and towering waterfalls. Regularly scheduled trains and steamships filled with tourists navigated up and down the Gorge, and Multnomah Falls soon became a favorite attraction.

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The concrete bridge spans Multnomah Creek between the upper and lower cataracts of Multnomah Falls. The original bridge (shown) was built in the early 1880s out of log poles. After its collapse, the current bridge was built in 1914 and named for Simon Benson, a strong advocate for the Historic Colulmbia River Gorge Highway and Multnomah Falls.

Multhnomah Falls Lodge, designed by noted Portland architect Albert E. Doyle, was built in 1925 by the city of Portland to capitalize on the booming tourist trade of the Columbia River Gorge. Today, the Lodge has a snack bar, gift shop, full-service restaurant, and a U.S. Forest Service interpretive center. It was placed on the National Register for Historic Places in 1981.

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Show me all markers in:  Corbett, OR  |  Multnomah County  |  97019  |  Oregon  |  United States of America

Simon Benson
Discover Wahkeena Falls
Oneonta Gorge
Oneonta Tunnel
Beacon Rock
Samuel C. Lancaster
Marshall N. Dana
Vista House
Chanticleer Point
Chanticleer Point

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