Wells Creek Falls | |
---|---|
Location | Mount Baker Wilderness |
Coordinates | 48°51′54″N121°45′51″W / 48.86500°N 121.76417°W |
Type | Plunge |
Total height | 90 feet (27 m) |
Number of drops | 1 |
Total width | 10 feet (3.0 m) |
Watercourse | Wells Creek |
Average flow rate | 250 cubic feet per second (7.1 m3/s) |
Wells Creek Falls is the generally used name for a waterfall on Wells Creek in the Mount Baker Wilderness in Washington. The falls are located several thousand feet above Wells Creek's confluence with Bar Creek. [1] [2]
One of the better known falls on the slopes of Mount Baker, the falls are a single plunge of 90 feet (27 m) within a small gorge which the falls mark the beginning of. Several thousand feet downstream from the falls, the creek passes under Wells Creek Road & immediately is joined by Wells Creek's only major tributary, Bar Creek. A large culvert, rather than a bridge crosses the creek along Wells Creek Road.
The falls are occasionally confused with much larger Mazama Falls, which is two kilometers upstream. Ironically enough, Mazama Falls is officially named while Wells Creek Falls isn't despite the fact almost nobody has ever seen Mazama Falls up close & Wells Creek Falls is regularly visited by people driving up Wells Creek Road.
Although not quite as convenient & easy to reach as Nooksack Falls, the falls are not difficult to get to. They are located 5 kilometers up Wells Creek Road from Nooksack Falls & the condition of the road is quite good for a logging road, although it deteriorates beyond the falls. Once at the crossing, one can walk up the wide streambed to reach good views of the falls. Depending on how high the creek is, you may or may not have to get fairly wet, since at least one creek crossing is needed to get up close.
One can actually view the falls right from the crossing, however the view is partially obscured by trees.
Mount Baker, also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is a 10,781 ft (3,286 m) active glacier-covered andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington in the United States. Mount Baker has the second-most thermally active crater in the Cascade Range after Mount St. Helens. About 30 miles (48 km) due east of the city of Bellingham, Whatcom County, Mount Baker is the youngest volcano in the Mount Baker volcanic field. While volcanism has persisted here for some 1.5 million years, the current volcanic cone is likely no more than 140,000 years old, and possibly no older than 80–90,000 years. Older volcanic edifices have mostly eroded away due to glaciation.
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Nooksack Falls is a waterfall along the North Fork of the Nooksack River in Whatcom County, Washington. The water flows through a narrow valley and drops freely 88 feet into a deep rocky river canyon. The falls are viewable from the forested cover near the cliffs edge. The falls are a short 2/3 of a mile drive off the Mount Baker Highway, Washington. The falls were featured in the hunting scene of the movie The Deer Hunter.
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Blum Basin Falls is a waterfall in Whatcom County, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in North Cascades National Park on the headwaters of Blum Creek, a tributary of the Baker River. Fed by two small retreating glaciers and several snowfields on the southern side of Mount Blum, the waterfall is formed by the largest meltwater stream that feeds the mainstem of Blum Creek. The falls tumble 1,680 feet (510 m) down a high glacial headwall several miles within the national park in two distinct stages; the first is a series of slides over rounded rock, above the tree line, and the second is a series of near-vertical plunges to the forested valley below. Although most of the falls is clearly visible, parts of it are obscured by tall pines that grow at its base. There is no trail leading to the waterfall.
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Mazama Falls, also referred to more simply as Wells Creek Falls, is a waterfall on Wells Creek in the U.S. state of Washington. At nearly 500 feet (150 m) high, it is said to be the largest waterfall in the Wells Creek watershed.
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