Barr Creek Falls, is a
waterfall
A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...
located in the Rogue River Canyon within the
Prospect State Scenic Viewpoint
Prospect State Scenic Viewpoint, is a List of Oregon state parks, state park south of the community of Prospect, Oregon, Prospect on Oregon Route 62 in Jackson County, Oregon, Jackson County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was formerly known as M ...
in
Jackson County, in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
. The waterfall is located at the south end of Barr Creek as it plunges into the Rogue River over a carved cliff surrounded by walls of petrified volcanic ash as a consequence of the
Mount Mazama
Mount Mazama (''Giiwas'' in the Native American language Klamath language, Klamath) is a complex volcano in the state of Oregon, United States, in a segment of the Cascade Volcanoes, Cascade Volcanic Arc and Cascade Range. Most of the mountai ...
eruption. The waterfall has also been called Bear Creek Falls. The waterfall gets its name from the creek which was called "Barr" for the presence of a fence that prevented cattle from straying out of the local Red Blanket Ranch and that ran adjacent to the creek.
Description
Barr Creek Falls shares the same rock cliff with
Mill Creek Falls
Mill Creek Falls, is a waterfall located in the Rogue River Canyon within the Prospect State Scenic Viewpoint in Jackson County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. The waterfall is located at the south end of Mill Creek as it plunges into the Rogue Rive ...
. Both waterfalls can be seen next to each other from their respective viewpoints.
The fall drops in three major steps. First plummets 60-feet, which is not a visible section of the cascade from the trail viewpoint. The second tier drops down another 30 feet, which is half visible from the viewpoint during high water flow. Finally it plummets 150 feet to the canyon floor before meeting with the Rogue River. With a height of 240 feet, Barr Creek Falls is among the tallest waterfalls in Oregon.
Location
Barr Creek Falls is located at the southernmost tip of the Prospect State Scenic Viewpoint. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) places the falls at coordinates at an elevation of above sea level.
Barr Creek runs from the Western skirt of
Crater Lake
Crater Lake (Klamath language, Klamath: ''Giiwas'') is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The ...
, bisects the southern end of the Prospect Airfield and plummets down the Rogue River Canyon a few yards before intersecting the Rogue River.
Access
Access to the waterfall is from a trail that starts on the park's parking lot on the town of Prospect's Mill Creek Drive, the southernmost of two parking lots on the road. The trail-head has an illustrative map of the area including the trail to the Avenue of Boulders and Barr Creek Falls. The trail is approximately half a mile from the parking lot to Barr Creek Falls viewpoint.
See also
*
List of waterfalls in Oregon
There are at least 238 waterfalls in the U.S. state of Oregon.
See also
* Lists of Oregon-related topics
{{United States topic, navbar=plain, title= Waterfalls in the United States, prefix=List of waterfalls in
Oreg ...
References
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Waterfalls of Oregon
Jackson County, Oregon