HOME  |  BLOG  |  SEARCH   |  TOP 100  |  CONTRIBUTE  |  HELP  |  CONTACT  

Wilson Glacier Falls
   Pierce County, Washington

[ Physical Makeup ]  [ Pictures ]  [ Maps ]  [ Update History ]

The Wilson Glacier is one of the smaller chunks of ice on Mount Rainier and like the Success is to the Kautz Glacier, is sort of a parasitic glacier of the Nisqually. Its largely connected to the Nisqually Glacier, but the lowest point of the Wilson ends on the top of a cliff parallel to the Nisqually and as a result most, if not all of the meltwater coming out of the Wilson Glacier flows over this cliff in a massive 315 foot tall, 75 foot wide waterfall. However, this is a peculiar waterfall. Based on my personal observations, it almost behaves like a reverse seasonal waterfall, flowing only when its been exceptionally warm out. That's not to say this is a seasonal waterfall, but it does flow at a much heavier rate during the hottest days of the summer than during the melt period in the late spring and the volume of the falls can fluctuate greatly depending on the weather, so don't expect a behemoth all the time. The other major downside to this waterfall is because it flow out of one glacier and literally right onto another, there is no way to get close to the falls aside from a helicopter, so long distance views have to suffice.

HISTORY AND NAMING INFORMATION

  • Wilson Glacier Falls is the Unofficial name of this waterfall.

LOCATION AND DIRECTIONS

moderate access

Wilson Glacier Falls can be seen from the Glacier Vista and Panorama Point areas along the Skyline Trail at Paradise, within Mount Rainier National Park. From the Visitors Center at Paradise its about a mile and a quarter to Glacier Vista along the Skyline Trail.

Latitude

46.81255 N

Longitude

-121.74649 W

Elevation

6859 feet

USGS Quadrangle

Mount Rainier West 7 1/2"

Online USGS Topographic maps on Terraserver

Aerial Photographs: Terraserver | Flash Earth

Download KML

Open this location in Google Earth

OTHER NEARBY WATERFALLS

Name

Distance

Pebble Creek Falls

1.233 miles

Upper Pebble Creek Falls

1.408 miles

Nisqually Valley Falls

1.461 miles

East Van Trump Park Falls

1.478 miles

Unnamed Waterfall

1.892 miles

Unnamed Waterfall

1.982 miles

Golden Gate Falls

2.115 miles

Middle Edith Creek Falls

2.152 miles

West Van Trump Park Falls

2.162 miles

Paradise Glacier Falls

2.333 miles

 

 

See all waterfalls in Pierce County

See all Waterfalls within the Mount Rainier Region

See all waterfalls in Washington

 

Find additional waterfalls on the World Waterfall Database:

Search for additional waterfalls withn:

 

 

 

Magnitude

66.72

IWC

2.58  (Class 3)

RATING

65.81 %

 

Photo of Wilson Glacier Falls

[ View Pictures ]

 

PHYSICAL MAKEUP

Height

315 feet

Tallest Drop

315 feet

Num. Drops

1

AVG. Width

75 feet

Pitch

81 degrees

Run

100 feet

Primary Form

Horsetail

 

Watershed

Nisqually River

Stream

Unnamed

AVG. Volume

100.0 cfs

Source

Glacier

Seasonality

Best Flows

July to October

 
 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Search for Wilson Glacier Falls on Google

Information on this waterfall at the World Waterfall Database

Search for more pictures at:
Flickr | PBase | Webshots | Smugmug

       
 

UPDATE HISTORY

Feb 23, 2013

Edited basic information about this waterfall

 
 
 
 
 

 

HOME
BROWSE WASHINGTON
BROWSE OREGON
BROWSE IDAHO
SEARCH DATABASE

BEST OF THE NORTHWEST
WATERFALL BLOG
MAPS
WATERFALL PHOTOGRAPHY
PURCHASE PRINTS
RECENT UPDATES

ABOUT THE NWS
FIRST TIME VISITORS
CONTACT US

CONTRIBUTE TO THE SURVEY
DISCLAIMER

All content © 2013 Northwest Waterfall Survey unless otherwise noted.
No part of this website may be reproduced, either electronically or on paper, without the author's written consent.