Bordered on the east by Highway 97, north by Highway 12 and the south and west by the Columbia River, the Gifford Pinchot Region is more commonly and colorfully known as Washington’s Volcano Country.
Of course everybody is familiar with the devastating eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, but the southwestern section of Washington is pockmarked with Volcanos and remnants thereof, which means the region has plenty of possibility for waterfalls. The high relief of Mounts St. Helens and Adams result in heavy glaciation, the remnants of the Goat Rocks volcano seeds many precipitous streams, and the high lava plateau of the Indian Heaven Wilderness feeds many springs and creeks as they drop towards the river valleys below. Waterfalls are plentiful in the region and though few are known to exceed 300 feet in height, many of the most scenic falls in Washington occur in this region. |