Brooks Falls

Group of bears at Brooks Falls
Fishing bear at Brooks Falls.
Bears at Brooks Falls feeding on sockeye salmon.

Brooks Falls is a waterfall located within Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Located on the Brooks River a mile and a half (2.4 km) from Brooks Lake and an equal distance from Naknek Lake, the falls are famous for watching salmon leap over the 6 foot (1.8 m) falls to get to their Brooks Lake spawning grounds.[1] Consequently, large populations of brown bears are attracted to feed on the spawning salmon. Brown bears usually congregate at the falls in July through early September, and many well-known photos of bears have been taken there, particularly Thomas Mangelsen's Catch of the Day. July witnesses the greatest concentrations of bears of any month at the falls; up to 25 bears have been seen at one time at Brooks Falls in that month.[2][needs update] In September, a smaller number of bears (maximum about 18 at one time[not verified in body]) can be seen at the falls to feast on the later salmon runs.

  1. ^ "Jumping Sockeye Salmon Brooks Fall Katmai National Park". Alaska in Pictures. Archived from the original on 2016-12-16. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  2. ^ "Brown Bears at Brooks Falls". National Park Service.