As the Yellowstone River flows from Yellowstone Lake toward the Missouri River and the Gulf of Mexico, it leisurely twists and winds through the Park until, about fifteen miles from its source, the river is converged to a width of less than fifty feet. Through foaming cataracts it suddenly rushes forward to hurtle down 112 feet in a graceful fall known as the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone. The velocity of flow is so great at the crest that the water pours over the lip of the canyon in a graceful arc.
On approaching the Grand Canyon, a good view of the Upper Falls may be had from an observation point about one quarter mile below Chittenden Bridge.
A short distance beyond the Upper Falls the swift, surging torrent again comes to a mighty precipice, this time with a drop of 308 feet—the famous Lower Falls. Plunging over, it leaps downward with a thunderous roar, and disappears in a cloud of spray, presenting an unforgettable picture. A third of the fall is hidden behind this vast cloud of spray which conceals the mad play of the waters beneath.
Cascades of Yellowstone River
The thundering Lower Falls of the Yellowstone
Not far from Grand Canyon Hotel is a stairway leading to the top of the Lower Falls. It may also be viewed from the lower end of Uncle Tom’s Trail which goes to the bottom of the Canyon. Looking upward at the roaring cataract from that point, you are awed by its wild and unharnessed power. Sunlight gives additional charm to the scene by forming multi-colored rainbows in the filmy clouds of ascending spray.
Tower Falls
