Horsetail Falls (Oregon)

Horsetail Falls (or Horse Tail Falls) is a waterfall located on Horsetail Creek along the Columbia River Gorge in Multnomah County, in the U.S. state of Oregon.[1] The falls drop over a cut over the columnar basalt cliff within the Oneonta Gorge.[2] It is one of the waterfalls along the Columbia River Highway's waterfall corridor.[3]

Not to be confused with Horsetail Fall (Yosemite).
Horsetail Falls
Horsetail Falls and pool
Horsetail Falls (Oregon) is located in Oregon
Horsetail Falls (Oregon)
LocationColumbia River Gorge
Coordinates45.5896°N 122.0687°W / 45.5896; -122.0687
TypeHorsetail
Elevation224 ft (68 m)
Total height176 ft (54 m)
Number of drops1
Average width15 ft (4.6 m)
WatercourseHorsetail Creek

Access

The waterfall is easily accessed, in contrast to its near neighbor Oneonta Falls, as it is right next to the Historic Columbia River Highway. The shape of the falls and the rounded rockface over which it flows cause it to resemble a horse's tail.

There are actually two waterfalls along the creek. The upper falls, called Upper Horsetail Falls or Ponytail Falls, can be accessed from a footpath.

Horsetail Falls Bridge

The Historic Columbia River Highway passes across Horsetail Falls on a bridge, the Horsetail Falls Bridge, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing structure.[4] It is a 60-foot (18 m) reinforced concrete slab span. The bridge was built in 1914 and is unique in its design in which it has been strengthened in 1998 from its original constitution by fibre-reinforced plastic.[5][6]

Gallery of waterfall images

See also

References
  1. "Horsetail Falls". World of Waterfalls. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  2. Williams, I. A. (1991). "The Columbia River Gorge; its geologic history interpreted from the Columbia River Highway" (PDF). Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries Bulletin. 2 (3): 130.
  3. "Horsetail Falls & Trail (#438)". USDA Forest Service. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  4. Hadlow, Robert W. (February 4, 2000). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: Columbia River Highway / Historic Columbia River Highway". National Park Service. Retrieved January 12, 2022. With accompanying 33 photos
  5. Seim, J. (September 1999). Composite strengthening and instrumentation of the Horsetail Falls Bridge with long gauge length fiber Bragg grating strain sensors. 13th International Conference on Optical Fiber Sensors. Vol. 3746. SPIE. pp. 172–175.
  6. Soltesz, S. (2002). Strain monitoring for horsetail falls and sylvan bridges (No. FHWA-OR-DF-02-17) (Report). Oregon Department of Transportation.


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