Willamette Falls | |
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Location | Oregon City / West Linn, Clackamas County, Oregon, U.S. |
Coordinates | 45°21′09″N 122°37′03″W / 45.35239°N 122.61763°W |
Type | Block |
Total height | 40 ft (12 m) |
Number of drops | 1 |
Average flow rate | 30,850 cu ft/s (874 m3/s) |
The Willamette Falls is a natural waterfall in the northwestern United States, located on the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn, Oregon. The largest waterfall in the Northwest U.S. by volume, it is the seventeenth widest in the world.[1] Horseshoe in shape, it is 1,500 feet (455 m) wide and forty feet (12 m) high, with a flow rate of 30,850 cu ft/s (874 m3/s). Located 26 miles (42 km) upriver from the Willamette's mouth at Portland, Willamette Falls is a culturally significant site for many tribal communities in the region.
Opened in 1873 and closed since 2011, the Willamette Falls Locks allowed boat traffic on the Willamette to pass into the main Willamette Valley.