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Picture Frame Falls
   Lewis County, Washington

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

This small waterfall can be seen immediately adjacent to SR 706, where it crosses Stevens Creek at the head of Stevens Canyon. The falls veil 26 feet over a fractured blocky ledge of the Mount Rainier Andesite formation. A second fall of as much as 40 feet in height occurs about 300 feet upstream that can be barely glimpsed through the brush from adjacent to the Stevens Creek bridge, but access is likely extremely arduous. Though clearly visible from the road, most visitors pass the falls by because of its lesser stature. The roadside upper portion of Upper Sunbeam Falls, about 2 miles west of this location, is very similar in appearance and is very often photographed, but Picture Frame Falls are comparatively neglected despite it being nearly as scenic. The small stream which the falls lie on relies almost entirely on the annual snowfall, and often runs dry, or nearly dry, by August.

HISTORY AND NAMING INFORMATION

  • Picture Frame Falls is the Proposed name of this waterfall.
  • Known Alternate Names: Stevens Fork Falls, Stevens Valley Falls

The falls don't appear to be though significant enough to have ever been officially or colloquially named. A waterfall marked on the Mount Rainier East quadrangle half a mile upstream from this fall has been informally known as Upper Stevens Valley Falls, and Picture Frame Falls has occasionally been known as Stevens Valley Falls. The 4th edition of Greg Plumb's "Waterfall Lover's Guide" book refers to this entry as Stevens Fork Falls. We chose to refer to the falls as Picture Frame Falls as a more colorful descriptor of the greenery which in essence frames the falls on all sides.

LOCATION AND DIRECTIONS

Located in Stevens Canyon, within Mount Rainier National Park. The falls are found immediately adjacent to SR 706, on the left side of the Stevens Creek Bridge, which is located 1.2 miles east of The Bench, or about 4 2/3 miles west of Box Canyon.

Latitude

46.77596 N

Longitude

-121.70309 W

Elevation

4111 feet

USGS Quadrangle

Mount Rainier East 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

Stevens Creek Falls

0.426 miles

Upper Stevens Valley Fall...

0.432 miles

Lower Sunbeam Falls

0.457 miles

Unnamed Waterfall

0.504 miles

Sunbeam Falls

0.621 miles

Faraway Falls

0.911 miles

Martha Falls

1.471 miles

Upper Sunbeam Falls

1.515 miles

Lake Louise Falls

1.568 miles

Fairy Falls

2.072 miles

 

 

See all waterfalls in Lewis County

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Magnitude

14.45

IWC

Unrated

RATING

27.55 %

 

Photo of Picture Frame Falls

[ View Pictures ]

 

PHYSICAL MAKEUP

Height

26 feet

Tallest Drop

26 feet

Num. Drops

1

AVG. Width

10 feet

Pitch

80 degrees

Run

5 feet

Primary Form

Wide Horsetail

 

Watershed

Cowlitz River

Stream

Unnamed

AVG. Volume

10.0 cfs

Source

Runoff

Seasonality

6 months

Best Flows

May to July

 
 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Search for Picture Frame Falls on Google

Information on this waterfall at the World Waterfall Database

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

       
 

UPDATE HISTORY

Sep 17, 2011

Added a picture(s) of this waterfall

 
 
 
 
 

 

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