Qualla: Multnomah Falls

Multnomah Falls: Introduction

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit U.S. Forest Service- Pacific Northwest Region, Public domain. The water falls forever here, or so it seems. Fed by underground springs from Larch Mountain, Multnomah Falls never runs dry - even in the driest summers, when other Gorge waterfalls fade to trickles. At 620 feet, it drops in two distinct plunges separated by a brief rest on a rock ledge, where the Benson Footbridge arcs gracefully across the mist. This is Oregon's tallest waterfall, and one of the most visited natural sites in the Pacific Northwest, drawing over two million people each year to stand in its perpetual spray and feel the thunder of water on rock.

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Image: U.S. Forest Service- Pacific Northwest Region | Public domain

Multnomah Falls: The Never-Ending Falls

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Kingofthedead, CC BY-SA 4.0. What makes Multnomah Falls remarkable isn't just its height - it's its constancy. While most waterfalls depend on rainfall and snowmelt, this one draws from underground springs that filter through Larch Mountain year-round. The falls formed roughly 15,000 years ago, carved into b...

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Image: Kingofthedead | CC BY-SA 4.0

Multnomah Falls: A Philanthropist's Gift

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ian Poellet, CC BY-SA 3.0. In 1915, lumber baron Simon Benson donated over 300 acres around the falls to the city of Portland, including the falls themselves and nearby Wahkeena Falls. Benson had made his fortune in the timber industry, but he understood that some forests were worth more standing than logg...

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Image: Ian Poellet | CC BY-SA 3.0

Multnomah Falls: The Bridge in the Mist

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ben Brooks from Fife WA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0. The Benson Footbridge spans the lower falls 105 feet above the ground, offering views directly into the upper falls that seem to pour from the sky itself. Built in 1914 as a timber bowstring truss bridge, it was later rebuilt in concrete. Standing on the bridge, mist dampening yo...

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Image: Ben Brooks from Fife WA, USA | CC BY-SA 2.0

Multnomah Falls: Sacred Waters

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ian Sane from Oregon, USA, CC BY 2.0. Long before European settlers arrived, the Multnomah people knew this place. According to their creation story, a young woman sacrificed herself to the Great Spirit, jumping from the cliff to save her village from a plague. After her death, water began to flow from above the clif...

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Image: Ian Sane from Oregon, USA | CC BY 2.0