''For the waterfall in

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

with the same name, see Swiftcurrent Falls (Montana).'' Swiftcurrent Falls is a major

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 Swiftcurrent Creek near its source.World Waterfall Database: Swiftcurrent Falls
/ref> The falls are one of the taller waterfalls in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

but have never been officially measured.

Stature

Swiftcurrent Falls likely stands about high as the creek drops out of 2 small

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

lakes that are located just below the toe of the

Swiftcurrent Glacier Swiftcurrent Glacier is in Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana.The glacier is on the east ( Glacier County) side of the Continental Divide arête known as the Garden Wall. Swiftcurrent Glacier is one of several glaciers that ar ...

. The falls plunge madly down a

headwall In physical geography and geology the headwall of a glacial cirque is its highest cliff. The term has been more broadly used to describe similar geomorphic features of non-glacial origin consisting of a concave depression with convergent slopes ty ...

into the remote Swiftcurrent Creek Valley. Not a lot is known about the falls other than its great height & geology since it is so remote.

Geology

The rock the falls drop over is

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. Much of the rock in the mountains in the

Mount Robson Provincial Park Mount Robson Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Canadian Rockies with an area of 2,249 km². The park is located entirely within British Columbia, bordering Jasper National Park in Alberta. The B.C. legislature created the park in 19 ...

area is limestone. Since Swiftcurrent Creek is such a large creek (even near its source) & limestone is very porous rock, the creek has carved large grooves & even tunnels (which the water of the falls flows in & out of) in the headwall. Most of the time, most of the water flowing over the falls isn't even visible since most of it is underground. It is believed that in very high water that the falls flow above ground however, generally most of the year most portions of it are underground in the tunnels the falls have carved in the limestone.

References

Waterfalls of British Columbia Robson Valley Canadian Rockies {{BritishColumbiaInterior-geo-stub

Stature

Geology

See also

References