Horsetail Falls

Oregon State Archives: A 1940 Journey Across Oregon

HORSETAIL FALLS, 156.6 m. [West of Hwy. 730 Junction], forming the design that gives it name, shoot downward across the face of the sheer rock wall into an excellent fishing pool. Spray from the pool continually drifts across the highway. East of the falls towers ST. PETERS DOME, a 2,000-foot basalt pinnacle.

http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/pages/exhibits/across/eaglecr.html

#598 - Columbia River Highway at Horsetail Falls Oregon State Archives / Oregon Department of Transportationhttp://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/images/records/state/odot/highway/598.jpg

Northwest Waterfall Survey: Horsetail Falls

Height: 214 feet

Num. Drops: 1

Stream: Horsetail Creek

The falls have been named such, as a descriptive of the shape of the falls, since the Columbia Gorge was first explored and settled, but the exact date of origin is not known. The waterfall in this case inspired the name of the creek.

The falls are commonly said to stand 176 feet tall, but some sources placed its height at 208 feet. I measured it in 2009 to be 214 feet, so where the idea of 176 feet came from, I don't know.

http://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/nws/falls.php?num=4044

Horsetail Falls, 208 ft., Columbia River Highway, Oregon Sawyer Scenic Photos, Inc. Horsetail Falls, 208 Ft., Columbia River Highway, Oregon. Sawyer Scenic Photos, Inc, c. 1920.Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Libraryhttp://brbl-dl.library.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3524680

#599 - Columbia River Highway at Horsetail Falls Oregon State Archives / Oregon Department of Transportationhttp://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/images/records/state/odot/highway/599.jpg