Feather 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 on the Fall River, a tributary of the

Middle Fork Feather River The Middle Fork Feather River is a major river in Plumas and Butte Counties in the U.S. state of California. Nearly long, it drains about of the rugged northern Sierra Nevada range. Its headwaters are located near Beckwourth in the largest al ...

, within the

Plumas National Forest Plumas National Forest is a 1,146,000-acre (4,638 km2) United States National Forest located at the northern terminus of the Sierra Nevada, in northern California. The Forest was named after its primary watershed, the Rio de las Plumas, or F ...

in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

mountain range in Butte County, eastern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Description

The Feather Falls were recently measured to be 410 feet tall. This concurs with the

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

Brush Creek 7½" quadrangle information. They have been incorrectly claimed to stand 640 feet tall, and to be the 4th, 5th or 6th tallest falls in the United States, while actually not in the top 10. The falls can be partially seen from the middle arm of

Lake Oroville Lake Oroville is a reservoir formed by the Oroville Dam impounding the Feather River, located in Butte County, northern California. The lake is situated northeast of the city of Oroville, within the Lake Oroville State Recreation Area, in th ...

but are usually observed from a platform accessed by either of two trails maintained by the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

. The nearby town of

Feather Falls, California Feather Falls (formerly Mooretown,, Moresville, and Feather River) is a rural unincorporated community in Butte County, California north and east of Lake Oroville. It lies at an elevation of 2982 feet (909 m). It is home to Feather Falls Element ...

takes its name from the falls.

Ladybugs

The area at Frey Creek is a famous stopping point for migrating

ladybugs Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles ranging in size from . They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in Great Britain. Some entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as they ...

. Millions of ladybugs can be seen at Frey Creek during the

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...

months. The ladybugs can usually be seen from November to March, but some sightings have been reported as early as August. The ladybugs stay for the winter, and then fly back down into the valley when spring comes.

Sources

External links

California Department of Water ResourcesIt is marked on this Wikimapia site showing Lake Oroville.
Waterfalls of California Feather River Landforms of Butte County, California Plumas National Forest Waterfalls of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Plunge waterfalls {{ButteCountyCA-geo-stub