Elbow Falls is a small set of

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 ...

s along the

Elbow River The Elbow River is a river in southern Alberta, Canada. It flows from the Canadian Rockies to the city of Calgary, where it merges into the Bow River. Course The Elbow River originates at Elbow Lake in the Front Range of the Canadian Rocky ...

, west of the hamlet of

Bragg Creek Bragg Creek is a hamlet in southern Alberta under the jurisdiction of Rocky View County in Division No. 6. Bragg Creek is located west of Calgary (via Highway 8 and Highway 22) at the confluence of the Elbow River and Bragg Creek north of t ...

within

Kananaskis Improvement District Kananaskis Improvement District is an improvement district in Alberta, Canada. It is located within Alberta's Rockies, sharing much of its boundaries with Kananaskis Country. The administrative centre of the improvement district is Kananaskis ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. They are located along Highway 66, west of the Bragg Creek turnoff on Highway 22. In the dry season, the falls reach a height of , while in June, during high discharges, the river fills up and the waterfall is only high. A day use area (i.e. picnics) is maintained at the falls site, and also serves as the start/finish of a short long

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

trail. Overnight camping is available at several nearby campgrounds.Elbow Valley Campgrounds - Elbow River Valley - Stairway to the Mountains
/ref> After the

2013 Alberta floods In the days leading up to June 19, 2013, parts of southern and central Alberta, Canada experienced heavy rainfall that triggered catastrophic flooding described by the provincial government as the worst in Alberta's history. Areas along the Bo ...

, the day use area was destroyed. The Elbow River overflowed its banks and destroyed all of the picnicking area and most of the paved trails. The riverbed itself also suffered major destruction, now being replaced by mounds of rock, rather than soil and trees.

References

External links

''Elbow'' River Valley Map
(PDF)
Alberta Parks Elbow Falls Provincial Recreation Area

Elbow Falls High Spring Flow Hd Video
Kananaskis Improvement District Waterfalls of Alberta Cascade waterfalls {{AlbertaRockies-geo-stub