Metlako Falls is a waterfall on
Eagle Creek in the
Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area in
Hood River County, Oregon
Hood River County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,977. The county seat is Hood River. The county was established in 1908 and is named for the Hood River, a tributary of th ...
, United States. It is the furthest downstream of the major waterfalls on Eagle Creek. Like upstream
Punch Bowl Falls
Punch Bowl Falls is a waterfall on Eagle Creek in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Oregon, United States. Eagle Creek drains into the Columbia River, with its outlet on the Columbia River Gorge in Multnomah County.
The falls is ta ...
, Metlako is also in the form of a
punchbowl Punchbowl is an alternative spelling of punch bowl, a large bowl for serving drinks, or may refer to:
Topography
*Punchbowl, a type of waterfall
Places
* Punchbowl, Korea, valley and site of 1950s battles
*Punchbowl, New South Wales, suburb of Sy ...
. The falls is tall, though people have measured it anywhere from tall. It is the upstream limit for
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 ...
spawning in Eagle Creek.
Naming
The waterfall was discovered and named by a
committee
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
of
the Mazamas
The Mazamas () is a mountaineering organization based in Portland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1894.
Promotion of mountaineering
The Mazamas has been an important part of the climbing community in the Pacific Northwest of the United State ...
in 1915 after Metlako, the Indian
goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
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 ...
, likely because it is the upstream limit for
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 ...
spawning in Eagle Creek.
2016 Landslide
At the end of 2016 landslide destroyed official viewpoint, so title photo view of waterfall is not possible anymore. Eagle Creek Fire in 2017 burned trees around waterfall. It makes extremely difficult (and dangerous) to scramble to the edge of the cliff, however, due to lack of foliage top of Metlako Falls is now visible from a trail. Spring 2022 Update: local hikers asked Forest Service to develop alternative viewpoint. Work is not started yet.
See also
*
List of waterfalls on Eagle Creek and its tributaries
Sources
*http://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/waterfall.php?num=1561&p=0
*http://www.waterfallswest.com/or_metlako.html
{{Waterfalls of Oregon
Waterfalls of Hood River County, Oregon
Waterfalls of Oregon
Mount Hood National Forest
Punch bowl waterfalls