Whatcom Falls Park is a park in

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (loc ...

, United States. The falls are on

Whatcom Creek Whatcom Creek is a waterway in Bellingham, Washington, United States. Approximately long, it drains Lake Whatcom through Whatcom Falls Park and through the city of Bellingham to Bellingham Bay. The creek starts at the control dam for Lake Wha ...

, which leads from

Lake Whatcom Lake Whatcom (from the Lummi word for "loud water") is located in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It is the drinking water source for approximately 85,000 residents in the city of Bellingham as well as Whatcom County. It is approxima ...

Bellingham Bay Bellingham Bay is a bay of the Salish Sea located in Washington State in the United States. It is separated from the Strait of Georgia on the west by the Lummi Peninsula, Portage Island, and Lummi Island. It is bordered on the east by Bellingha ...

. The park has four sets of waterfalls and several miles of well maintained walking trails. Other features include: *

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

pond – children 14 and under only. *Two

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

courts (upper parking lot) *Athletic fields (upper parking lot) *Picnic tables and shelters can be rented from the parks department office. *Two playgrounds – one at each the upper and lower parking lots *Whatcom Falls pump track Bellingham Technical College operates a trout hatchery within the park on behalf of the

Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is a department of the government of the state of Washington, United States of America. The WDFW manages over a million acres of land, the bulk of which is generally open to the public, and mor ...

Whirlpool Falls

Old Stone Bridge Whatcom Falls Park Bellingham Washington

Whirlpool Falls is a very popular

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

hole within the park. The falls themselves are only about ten feet in height but the cliffs adjacent to the falls reach to about high. During the summer one can usually watch swimmers jumping from these tall cliffs into the punchbowl pool below. The falls are located along the "Whirlpool Loop Trail." Swimming at these falls was outlawed for a number of years following the pipeline disaster, of which damage is visible from popular cliffs. After various signs warning swimmers from entering, and fences meant to keep them out were destroyed, the city gave up regulating the area and removed all warnings and barriers. These falls are frequently referred to incorrectly as Middle Whatcom Falls or Lower Whatcom Falls. Middle falls is located down creek near the western edge of the park and not reachable by trail. The area surrounding the middle falls was devastated by the

Olympic pipeline explosion On June 10, 1999, the Olympic pipeline operated by Olympic Pipe Line Company, carrying gasoline at the time, exploded in Whatcom Falls Park in Bellingham, Washington. The disaster started at 3:25 PM PDT (22:25 UTC) when a mostly underground gaso ...

and is off limits to the public. The lower falls are actually located a couple miles downstream just above the estuary at Maritime Heritage Park.

Pipeline disaster

On June 10, 1999, the Olympic pipeline (of the Olympic Pipe Line Company) ruptured in the park near Whatcom Creek, leaking 237,000 US gallons (897 m³) of gasoline into the creek. The massive amount of fuel was inadvertently ignited and the resulting explosion burned significant forest land within the park. A young man and two boys died as a result of this tragedy.

References

External links

kulshan.com Park DescriptionWhatcom Falls Waterfall StatisticsWhirlpool Falls Waterfall StatisticsWhatcom Falls Park on Google MapsTopoQuest MapWhatcom Falls Neighborhood Association
{{Coord, 48.7521, -122.4331, type:landmark_source:enwiki-googlemaplink, display=title Parks in Washington (state) Geography of Bellingham, Washington Parks in Whatcom County, Washington Waterfalls of Washington (state) Waterfalls of Whatcom County, Washington Tourist attractions in Bellingham, Washington

Whirlpool Falls

Pipeline disaster

See also

References

External links