![Turner Falls - Davis, Oklahoma](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Turner_Falls_-_Davis%2C_Oklahoma.jpg)
Turner 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 ...
on Honey Creek in the
Arbuckle Mountains
The Arbuckle Mountains are an ancient mountain range in south-central Oklahoma in the United States. They lie in Murray, Carter, Pontotoc, and Johnston counties. of south-central
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
,
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 ...
, south of
Davis
Davis may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Mount Davis (Antarctica)
* Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago)
* Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land
Canada
* Davis, Saskatchewan, an unincorporated community
* Davis Strait, between Nunavut and Gre ...
.
[Turner Falls Park](_blank)
retrieved January 30, 2009
Retrieved March 24, 2014. With a height of , Turner Falls is locally considered Oklahoma's tallest waterfall,
[Turner Falls Park](_blank)
Davis, Oklahoma, Chamber of Commerce although its height matches one in
Natural Falls State Park
Natural Falls State Park is a state-owned park in the Ozarks, in Delaware County, Oklahoma, Delaware County, Oklahoma. It lies along U.S. Highway 412, near the Arkansas-Oklahoma state line. The property was privately-owned and known as Dripping ...
.
Turner Falls and the blue hole are dangerous and have claimed people's lives every year. Only experienced swimmers should swim ther
History
Mazeppa Thomas Turner, a Scottish immigrant farmer who married Laura Johnson, a Chickasaw woman, settled in the area in 1878 and discovered the falls. The falls were named for him.
Recreational use began in or before 1868. At the time, Turner Falls was located in
Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation Pickens County was a political subdivision of the Chickasaw Nation in the Indian Territory from 1855, prior to Oklahoma being admitted as a state in 1907. The county was one of four that comprised the Chickasaw Nation. Following statehood, its terr ...
.
[Charles Goins, ''Historical Atlas of Oklahoma'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2006), plate 105.]
Today, the falls are part of Turner Falls Park, a city park operated by the city of Davis, Oklahoma.
[History](_blank)
on official website, retrieved January 30, 2009 The Falls cascade into a natural swimming pool, one of two such pools within the park,
and these are popular tourist destinations in the summer.
[Turner Falls Location and Park Info](_blank)
Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department
The city of Davis acquired the park in 1919 and operated it until 1950. It then leased the facility to other interests until 1978, when it resumed control.
The park covers , and also contains nature trails, caves and other interesting geological features. It also has a walk-in castle,
originally built in the 1930s as a summer home for Dr. Ellsworth Collings, a professor and later Dean of the School of Education at the
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
.
References
External links
Official website More images of Turner Falls Park Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department
Turner Falls Park
{{coord, 34, 25, 31, N, 97, 08, 55, W, display=title
Protected areas of Murray County, Oklahoma
Waterfalls of Oklahoma
Parks in Oklahoma
Landforms of Murray County, Oklahoma