Latourell Falls were named after Joseph Latourell, a well known settler in the area; the land itself was owned by Guy W. Talbot, who donated it to Oregon State Parks in 1929
Bridal Veil Creek is easy to reach, but also contains poison oak along the banks; an oil called urushiol causes the allergic reaction in people, and can persist on skin and clothes long after contact and spread simply by touch
Latourell Falls was featured in the 2009 post-apocalyptic movie 'The Road', starring Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron
Bridal Veil Falls is distinguished by high volume and its proximity to the Columbia river, which is close 20 vertical feet
A short, steep paved path leads down to Bridal Veil Creek, which you'll cross on a bridge to reach an elevated viewing platform
Major Columbia River tributaries include the Kootenai, Spokane, Okanogan, Methow, Yakima, Snake, Umatilla, John Day, Deschutes, White Salmon, Wind, Sandy, Willamette, Lewis and Cowlitz rivers
A large mill operation was located just down stream of Bridal Veil Falls from ~1910-1930
Upper Latourell Falls drops into a circular alcove that enable you to reach behind the falls with some care when cfs is low
Latourell Falls drops 224' over a columnar basalt wall distinguished by bright yellow lichens
Bigleaf Maple crowns differ by growing environment; in dense forests it will develop a narrow crown supported by stem-free branches for half its length, while in the open it will develop a broad crown with a few large supporting limbs
The Columbia River Basalt Group is the principal rock unit in the gorge, comprising a series of basalt flows that erupted 17-6M years ago
According to Waterfallsnorthwest, Bridal Veil looked different in the early 20th century when the upper tier was much taller and the lower tier much shorter; it's thought the original fall squeezed through a narrow chute that has since been blocked
Crowns thin considerably at Upper Latourell Falls, which requires a 1.2 mile, 445' climb to reach
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