Salt Creek Falls, Oregon

(Click image to enlarge)

Salt Creek Falls is without doubt one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Oregon. At 286 feet high it is the second highest waterfall in the state. The average annual flow of water over the falls is 50,000 gallons per minute, and peak flows can be over twice as much. To put this into perspective, 50,000 gallons per minute is enough to supply all the water needs of a community of about 180,000 people. Mist literally rockets from the base of the falls during peak flow periods, and can drift all the way up to the vantage point from which this photograph was captured. Unfortunately no photograph can capture the thunder of the water against the rocks after its four second drop from the basalt cliff.