Tahquitz Falls

Last updated
Tahquitz Falls
Tahquitz Falls 1.jpg
Tahquitz Falls, facing west
Tahquitz Falls
Location Tahquitz Canyon
Coordinates 33°48′13″N116°33′42″W / 33.8036°N 116.5617°W / 33.8036; -116.5617
Type Staircase
Elevation890 ft (270 m)
Total height60 ft (18 m)

Tahquitz Falls is a waterfall on Tahquitz Creek in the west skirt of the city Palm Springs, in the U.S. state of California. The waterfall is located in lower Tahquitz Canyon, a short distance upstream from the visitor center. The name of the canyon and its waterfall is from the spirit Tahquitz, a Cahuilla native of the Agua Caliente folklore. [1]

Contents

The river flows over a slab of granite atop the falls, after which it plunges about 60 feet (18 m) [2] into a pool. The fall is split once by a protrusion on the face of the canyon wall. The Tahquitz Falls is in the boundaries included in the National Register of Historic Places.

Tahquitz Falls pano.jpg
Tahquitz Falls in late fall 2020

Access

The falls are easily reached by proceeding upstream along the Tahquitz Canyon Trail. The trail gains approximately 350 feet (110 m) in altitude and runs past the waterfall forming a loop that returns to the waterfall and to the Visitor Center. [1] The canyon and its trail are owned and managed by the Agua Calientes Band of Cahuilla Indians. [3]

The Tahquitz Falls were used as a scene in Frank Capra's 1937 film, Lost Horizon. [4]

The Tahquitz Falls was also used as one of the prominent locations in the Jim Morrison's privately-funded 1969 film HWY: An American Pastoral. [5]

See also

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Tahquitz is a spirit found in the legends of the Cahuilla, Kumeyaay and Luiseño Native American people of Southern California. Accounts of the legend vary significantly, but most agree that Tahquitz represents evil or death, and his spirit makes its home on Mount San Jacinto. Some accounts report that he steals people and/or their souls and devours them on the mountain. Tahquitz manifests himself in the form of fireballs, lightning, meteors and thunderous sounds on the mountain and in the canyons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tahquitz Canyon</span> Canyon near Palm Springs, California

Tahquitz Canyon is located in Palm Springs, California on a section of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation. The canyon descends from the Riverside County San Jacinto Mountains. It was continually inhabited for at least 5,000 years by the Native American Cahuilla people, and is one of many canyons of cultural significance to the Cahuilla. Today it is a nature preserve open to the public that is overseen by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.

Tahquitz may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tahquitz Creek</span> River in California, United States

Tahquitz Creek is a small stream in Riverside County, California. The stream originates near Saddle Junction on the east slope of Mt. San Jacinto, and works its way down the mountain towards Palm Springs, where it flows into Tahquitz Canyon. The stream forms a small waterfall at the end of the canyon, which can be accessed by a hiking trail maintained by the Agua Caliente Indian tribe as part of the reservation, on which the canyon lies. The stream is named for the mythical shaman Tahquitz, who, according to Cahuilla legend, was given powers by Mukat, the creator of all things. The creek runs down an oblongated drainage area of approximately 18 square miles ranging in elevation from over 10,500 feet (3,200 m) down to 350 feet (110 m) at Palm Springs.

References

  1. 1 2 Lister, Priscilla (22 Feb 2013). "Palm Springs hiking, from sand to snow". The San Diego Union-Tribune . Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  2. "Tahquitz Falls Riverside County, California". Northwest Waterfall Survey. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  3. Schad, Jerry (23 Dec 2004). "From hippie hangout to Indian natural preserve, Tahquitz Canyon outside Palm Springs remains a popular place to visit". San Diego Reader . Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  4. Lost Horizon at the American Film Institute Catalog
  5. "Jim Morrison's HWY: An American Pastoral". mildequator.com. Retrieved 2023-11-22.