Prospect State Scenic Viewpoint, is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

south of the community of

Prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (mining ...

on Oregon Route 62 in Jackson County, in the U.S. state 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 ...

. It was formerly known as Mill Creek Falls Scenic Area, a private hiking area that was developed by

Willamette Industries Willamette Industries, Inc. was a Fortune 500 forest products company based in Portland, Oregon, United States.Rogue River. Both Mill Creek Falls and Pearsony Falls are contained within the area, with Barr Creek Falls close by. A

hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

was built in the 1920s which drained the narrow

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

containing the group of falls. A group of large

boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

s appeared. These have become a local attraction known as the ''Avenue of the Giant Boulders''. Avenue of the Giant Boulders Panorama

Mill Creek Falls

The Mill Creek Falls is the centerpiece attraction within the Mill Creek Scenic Area. A

trailhead A trailhead is the point at which a trail begins, where the trail is often intended for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicles. Modern trailheads often contain rest rooms, maps, sign posts and distribution centers for information ...

developed by Boise Cascade ends on a fork that leads to the Avenue of Boulders to the left and Mill Creek Falls and Barr Creek Falls to the right. The waterfall totals 173 feet high on Mill Creek shortly before it meets the Rogue River, and is one of the tallest cascades in Oregon. Mill Creek has low sinuosity, and has a gently sloping terrain. Yet, it flows through unstable banks which produce large amounts of sediment. Historically, the Mill Creek Falls area has moderate to frequent fires, primarily from

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

, having been entirely burned at least once in the past.Rogue, p. 39 For this reason it is common to see charred trees and snags surrounding the waterfall area.

Barr Creek Falls

Along Mill Creek Falls, the trailhead is Barr Creek Falls, a three-drop waterfall known as Bear Creek Falls. It totals 240 feet of fall in three drops, the tallest and last drop is 150 feet. The name comes from the presence of a cattle bar next to the waterfall to prevent cattle from straying out of the boundaries of private ranches that neighbor the river.

References

Citations

* *

External links

"Prospect State Scenic Viewpoint"
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department official site.
"Barr Creek Falls"
Northwest Waterfall Survey. State parks of Oregon Parks in Jackson County, Oregon Rogue River (Oregon) Waterfalls of Oregon {{JacksonCountyOR-geo-stub

Mill Creek Falls

Barr Creek Falls

See also

References

Citations

External links