Eagle Creek is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

in Multnomah and Hood River counties in the

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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 ...

. It cuts through a narrow canyon in its descent to the

Columbia River Gorge The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the sta ...

and is known for its concentration of 13 waterfalls in about distance. Eight major falls are on Eagle Creek and the East Fork Eagle Creek itself, while five are on its tributaries. The highest falls of Eagle Creek is '' Twister Falls'', which is a unique cascade of . The highest tributary waterfall is ''Wauna Falls'' which has a total drop of with the highest of . The waterfalls are described with most downstream (northerly) first and proceeding upstream along Eagle Creek.

Eagle Creek and East Fork

Metlako Falls

Metlako Falls, which takes its name from the Indian goddess of

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

, is an punchbowl waterfall. The falls drop out of a narrow and calm

stream pool A stream pool, in hydrology, is a stretch of a river or stream in which the water depth is above average and the water velocity is below average. Formation A stream pool may be bedded with sediment or armoured with gravel, and in some cases th ...

along Eagle Creek, and shoot powerfully out into the narrow canyon. Metlako Falls has also been measured to be either , , and . Despite its great height, the falls have been run before by experienced

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s. Metlako Falls is at coordinates .

Lower Punch Bowl Falls

Lower Punch Bowl Falls is the smaller downstream counterpart of the famous upstream Punch Bowl Falls. It is approximately high and wide. The falls is a popular study for photography, though a stretch of Eagle Creek upstream and Punch Bowl Falls itself are far more popular subjects. Lower Punch Bowl Falls is at coordinates .

Punch Bowl Falls

Punch Bowl Falls is a punchbowl, hence the name, just upstream of Lower Punch Bowl Falls, and is an incredibly popular subject of photography. The falls is formed as Eagle Creek is forced into a narrow channel, no more than wide, by sheer cliffs and shoots at high velocity into a natural amphitheater. This waterfall was responsible for the waterfall classification of "punchbowl". Punch Bowl Falls is at coordinates .

Skoonichuk Falls

Skoonichuk Falls takes its name from the Chinook Indian word meaning ''evil spirit''. About upstream of Punch Bowl Falls, Skoonichuk Falls is an often overlooked, drop on Eagle Creek, with two main tiers of and with cascades above and below. Skoonichuk Falls is at coordinates .

Grand Union Falls

Grand Union Falls, also called ''Grand Junction Falls'' or ''Blue Grouse Falls'', is an often overlooked waterfall on Eagle Creek just below the famed Tunnel Falls. It is similar in appearance, geology and form to ''Sevenmile Falls'' not too far upstream. The falls drop about in a punchbowl form, ending in a large, clear pool below. The cliff it flows over consists of the same columnar

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

that is very common in the Columbia River Gorge area. Grand Union Falls is at coordinates .

Tunnel Falls

Tunnel Falls is the only known waterfall on the East Fork Eagle Creek, with a sheer plunge of into a narrow bowl. Its most famous feature is the way the Eagle Creek Trail passes behind it, through a narrow tunnel blasted in the cliff face, above the streambed. The falls takes its name from this tunnel. The waterfall is actually on the East Fork Eagle Creek, not on Eagle Creek itself, but the East Fork is a substantial stream and Tunnel Falls is often associated with Eagle Creek anyway. Tunnel Falls is at coordinates .

Twister Falls

Twister Falls is a unique series of cascades on Eagle Creek, totaling about in height. It begins with a small plunge, then some cascades over bulbous rocks. Then the waters converge and are funneled through two narrow channels over a sheer cliff about high, forming two streams of water that cross over each other- hence the name "Twister". It ends with a plunge of into a large basin below the falls. ''Crisscross Falls'', ''Crossover Falls'', ''Bowtie Falls'', and ''Eagle Creek Falls'' are all accepted alternate names for this waterfall. Twister Falls is at coordinates .

Sevenmile Falls

Sevenmile Falls is the uppermost known major waterfall along Eagle Creek, and is very similar in form and appearance to ''Grand Union Falls'' above. The falls drop over columnar basalt, ending in a modest pool. The falls were named for being near the mark (

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7) of Eagle Creek, but is also known as ''Upper Eagle Creek Falls''. Sevenmile Falls is at coordinates .

Tributary waterfalls

Wauna Falls

Wauna Falls is a relatively hidden waterfall on a small, unnamed tributary of Eagle Creek well downstream from the first major waterfall,

Metlako Falls Metlako Falls is a waterfall on Eagle Creek in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area in Hood River County, Oregon, United States. It is the furthest downstream of the major waterfalls on Eagle Creek. Like upstream Punch Bowl Falls, Metlak ...

. The falls, obscured by foliage, cascades in 5 tiers down the canyon wall for , with a tallest drop of . Wauna Falls is at coordinates .

Sorenson Falls

Sorenson Falls is a waterfall near Metlako Falls, dropping about into the canyon nearly parallel with it. Unfortunately, the falls are mostly obstructed by foliage and cannot be seen clearly from the Eagle Creek trail. Sorenson Falls is at coordinates .

Loowit Falls

Loowit Falls is located shortly downstream of Skoonichuk Falls, and drops about . The falls has one main tier that drops into a nearly perfectly round pool, before cascading into Eagle Creek. Loowit Falls takes its name from ''Loowit'', an old woman in local Indian tribe lore who tended an eternal fire burning on the Bridge of the Gods, and who transformed into

Mount St. Helens Mount St. Helens (known as Lawetlat'la to the indigenous Cowlitz people, and Loowit or Louwala-Clough to the Klickitat) is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United St ...

upon her death. Loowit Falls is at coordinates .

Tenas Falls

Tenas Falls is a rather non-notable waterfall on an unnamed stream that joins Eagle Creek just above Skoonichuk Falls. It skips about down a small ledge in two tiers. Tenas Falls takes its name from a

Chinookan The Chinookan languages were a small family of languages spoken in Oregon and Washington (state), Washington along the Columbia River by Chinook peoples. Although the last known native speaker of any Chinookan language died in 2012, the 2009-2013 ...

word meaning "small". Tenas Falls is at coordinates .

Wy'east Falls

Wy'east Falls is a plunge along a small tributary of Eagle Creek. Like so many of the other waterfalls along Eagle Creek, it plunges over the Columbia River Gorge basalt formation. The falls takes its name from ''Wy'east'', the Native American name for

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. Wy'east Falls is at coordinates .

Access

All the waterfalls along Eagle Creek are accessed along the Eagle Creek Trail, which is a creatively constructed trail that leads from the

Historic Columbia River Highway The Historic Columbia River Highway is an approximately scenic highway in the U.S. state of Oregon between Troutdale and The Dalles, built through the Columbia River Gorge between 1913 and 1922. As the first planned scenic roadway in the United ...

upstream along Eagle Creek, passing by several

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s. The trail leads to Punch Bowl Falls and continues a further to Tunnel Falls.

References

{{Waterfalls of Oregon Waterfalls of Hood River County, Oregon Mount Hood National Forest Waterfalls of Oregon