Van Trump Creek, also called Van Trump Falls Creek or the Van Trump Fork of the

Nisqually River The Nisqually River is a river in west central Washington in the United States, approximately long. It drains part of the Cascade Range southeast of Tacoma, including the southern slope of Mount Rainier, and empties into the southern end of Pu ...

, is a

creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: People * Creek people, also known as Muscogee, Native Americans ...

in Pierce County,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. It is a tributary of the Nisqually River, joining the

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

just above the mouth of the

Paradise River ''For the Canadian community, see Paradise River, Newfoundland and Labrador'' The Paradise River is a small, short but swift river in Pierce County, Washington. It is the first major tributary of the Nisqually River. Located entirely within the ...

. The creek is known for having several well known

waterfalls 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 ...

along its course.

Course

The creek originates at the toe of the

Van Trump Glacier The Van Trump Glacier is a scattering of glaciers and snowfields located on the southern flank of Mount Rainier in Washington. Named after P. B. Van Trump, who was part of an early ascent of Mount Rainier, the glacier covers and contains 500 mi ...

and flows south. Just west of Mildred Point, the creek drops over small

Upper Comet Falls Upper Comet Falls is a waterfall in Pierce County, Washington. It is located along Van Trump Creek Van Trump Creek, also called Van Trump Falls Creek or the Van Trump Fork of the Nisqually River, is a Stream, creek in Pierce County, Washingto ...

. Shortly below that, the creek drops over the largest and best known of the falls on the creek,

Comet Falls Comet Falls is a tall waterfall located on Van Trump Creek in Pierce County, Washington. The falls are thought to be the best in the Mount Rainier region. Stature At first glance the falls drop about out of a hanging valley A v ...

. Shortly below Comet Falls, Falls Creek joins Van Trump Creek. The creek drops over another major waterfall just below the mouth of Falls Creek,

Van Trump Falls Van Trump Falls is a waterfall on Van Trump Creek Van Trump Creek, also called Van Trump Falls Creek or the Van Trump Fork of the Nisqually River, is a Stream, creek in Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County, Washington (U.S. state), Washingt ...

. After dropping over the falls, the creek enters a deep

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

, which extends almost all the way to its mouth. About halfway through the gorge, the creek drops over Lower Van Trump Falls before exiting the canyon by dropping over

Christine Falls Christine Falls is a waterfall on Van Trump Creek in Pierce County, Washington. The falls are feet high and are best known for the Christine Falls Bridge spanning the lower drop. The upper drop is high and is almost impossible to film in tan ...

and under Longmire-to-Paradise Road. The creek then continues south to where it meets the Nisqually.

Debris Flows of 2001

On August 14, 2001, a ton of debris washed down from the

Kautz Glacier The Kautz Glacier is a narrow glacier on the southern flank of Mount Rainier in Washington. Named for August Kautz, who is sometimes credited for the first ascent of Mount Rainier, covers and contains 7.8 billion ft3 (221 million m3) of ice. U ...

and flowed down the creek, turning the creek into a raging torrent of mud and other debris. Most of the waterfalls on the creek were not seriously altered, but the mudflows scoured out existing vegetation and took out the bridge above Comet Falls, which was not replaced.

Floods of 2003 and 2006

In 2003 and 2006, Van Trump Creek and Falls Creek experienced major floods. The floods brought huge amounts of water down, large enough to take out all the dead vegetation, left by the 2001 mudflows, lining the creek in many places and replace them with gigantic boulders in some areas, especially below Upper Comet Falls. It altered several of the falls on the creek.

References

External links

* {{authority control Rivers of Washington (state) Rivers of Pierce County, Washington

Course

Debris Flows of 2001

Floods of 2003 and 2006

See also

References

External links