Ribbon Fall, Yosemite's Tallest Waterfall....has returned
Friends,
I greet you from Yosemite.
This weekend's rain storm....swelled the River of Mercy.... The Merced. The tributaries of a Merced River are small in size and are largely fed by melting snow in the high country....but this weekend's storm fed them with rain water as well.
The storm.....brought water... to the waterfalls... to those that were already flowing....and to those that were resting. The dry resting creeks woke up...flowing with water again...their water dropping over the cliff...becoming...waterfalls.
One awakened waterfall is Ribbon Fall, a seasonal waterfall to the west of El Capitan. It has its own distinctive personality for its appearance was determined by fractures in the granite. Waterfalls owe some of their splendor to geology. Ribbon Fall fluctuates in volume through the seasons. It descends from a great height...and people are drawn to its ethereal grace and beauty.
Ribbon Fall has been called one of the most interesting of the many minor falls that are not usually observed by the summer Park visitor.
It is found on the north side of Yosemite Valley where narrow Ribbon Creek pours over the great granite precipice at a point 3050 feet above the Valley floor ....as the narrow and graceful waterfall...as it plunges freely....until....it is constrained...confined in a narrow recess... the deep backward cut of the recess....as it splashes against the sheer wall recess of the cliff.
The movement of the waterfall, the plunge of the waterfall pouring over the cliff, and the black algae-stained cliff make for a beautiful and dramatic scene.
"The Indians call this Lung-oo-too-koo-yah, or the graceful and slender one"..from Hutching's In the Heart. He named it Ribbon Fall.
Geologically speaking...Ribbon Creek is a hanging creek.... it was left behind as the Merced River carved its own way...deep into the Valley. Also left hanging was Ribbon Valley. Thus were born all the hanging valleys and the waterfalls of Yosemite Valley. After the glaciers came through, the side streams were left hanging higher than ever. Where they had formerly been cascades, they now flowed to the brink of a great abyss and plunged off....the water fell off the brink of the cliffs...waterfalls were born!!!
There are many great waterfalls of the Valley...Bridalveil Fall drops 620 feet. Ribbon Fall has the greatest single drop....of 1612 feet. Yosemite Falls is made for up of three sections and has a combined drop of 2325 feet from the rim. The Upper Fall drops 1430 feet. The Upper Fall leaps away from the cliff wall and therefore is called a free-flowing waterfall. Ribbon Fall drops for 3050 feet, but only gets credit for 1612 feet as a free- flowing waterfall because the rest of it runs down the face of the cliff wall. According to a Park Naturalist from the 1940's, very probably a small glacierette in the hanging valley of Ribbon Creek plucked out the layers and is largely responsible for the deep backward cut of the sheer -walled recess itself. Because of this recess, it is no longer a free flowing waterfall as the water hits this recess. According to World Waterfall Database, Ribbon Fall is the tallest uninterrupted waterfall in the country.
A great view of Ribbon Fall is from at Marker V11, where John Muir and President Teddy Roosevelt camped. From the short hike to Bridalveil Fall, Ribbon Fall can be seen as well. My favorite view is from the El Capitan straight away
World Waterfall Database provides the following interesting information on Ribbon Fall.
"This waterfall has been surveyed, mapped and measured in person by the World Waterfall Database.
Ribbon Fall with a sheer drop of 1,612 feet Ribbon Fall is the tallest uninterrupted waterfall in the United States, and is among the tallest sheer waterfalls on the planet. Ribbon Creek drains an area of about 4 square miles immediately to the west of El Capitan, the collective waters of which intersect Yosemite Valley about 3,000 feet above the valley floor. As the creek runs off the edge of Ribbon Valley, it carries down a slightly corkscrew-shaped plain of rock which causes the fall to twist off axis and fall to the right of its original course. The stream stays in contact with the cliff face for perhaps the first 200-300 vertical feet of the fall, and then free-falls for over one thousand feet before it sprays onto a steep skirt of the cliff face and veils the final distance to the bottom of the cliff. This contact with the cliff disqualifies Ribbon Fall from being considered a truly free-falling waterfall in that it does retain some contact with the cliff face, however the fall is entirely uninterrupted (i.e. there are no pools or pauses in the fall), so it is still appropriate to consider it to be the tallest uninterrupted waterfall in the country.
Ribbon Fall occupies a deep alcove directly to the west of the massive granite monolith El Capitan and because the falls cannot be easily seen from many of the signature views around Yosemite Valley, they are not regarded nearly as highly as Yosemite Falls or - especially - Bridalveil Fall which is situated directly across the valley. But also because Ribbon Creek drains from such a small area, it retains a consistent flow for only about half of the year, usually peaking in volume between mid April and mid May, and then quickly diminishing and running completely dry by July at the latest in most years (if not earlier). This waterfall occurs along a stream that is known to vary greatly in volume and as a result may not flow consistently year round or may dry out completely during certain periods.
OUR THOUGHTS...Ribbon Fall isn't even remotely the main attraction in Yosemite Valley - or even one of the many main attractions for that matter. But Ribbon Fall is also a very striking waterfall when it's flowing and if its flowing well (as seen in some of the recent years when Yosemite has received well above average snowpack) it can be downright spectacular. If you plan on visiting Yosemite before July, do not pass up the opportunity to seek out this waterfall - just be prepared for a less than stellar performance unless you time your visit perfectly with the peak of snow melt season.
Ribbon Fall, Yosemite Valley's Tallest Waterfall
In a single drop of 1612 feet....has returned to provide beauty to its granite wall. Ribbon Fall, however, drops a total of 3050 feet....???This weekend's rain storm....swelled the River of Mercy.... The Merced. The tributaries of a Merced River are small in size and are largely fed by melting snow in the high country....but this weekend's storm fed them with rain water as well.
The storm.....brought water... to the waterfalls... to those that were already flowing....and to those that were resting. The dry resting creeks woke up...flowing with water again...their water dropping over the cliff...becoming...waterfalls.
One awakened waterfall is Ribbon Fall, a seasonal waterfall to the west of El Capitan. It has its own distinctive personality for its appearance was determined by fractures in the granite. Waterfalls owe some of their splendor to geology. Ribbon Fall fluctuates in volume through the seasons. It descends from a great height...and people are drawn to its ethereal grace and beauty.
Ribbon Fall has been called one of the most interesting of the many minor falls that are not usually observed by the summer Park visitor.
It is found on the north side of Yosemite Valley where narrow Ribbon Creek pours over the great granite precipice at a point 3050 feet above the Valley floor ....as the narrow and graceful waterfall...as it plunges freely....until....it is constrained...confined in a narrow recess... the deep backward cut of the recess....as it splashes against the sheer wall recess of the cliff.
The movement of the waterfall, the plunge of the waterfall pouring over the cliff, and the black algae-stained cliff make for a beautiful and dramatic scene.
"The Indians call this Lung-oo-too-koo-yah, or the graceful and slender one"..from Hutching's In the Heart. He named it Ribbon Fall.
Geologically speaking...Ribbon Creek is a hanging creek.... it was left behind as the Merced River carved its own way...deep into the Valley. Also left hanging was Ribbon Valley. Thus were born all the hanging valleys and the waterfalls of Yosemite Valley. After the glaciers came through, the side streams were left hanging higher than ever. Where they had formerly been cascades, they now flowed to the brink of a great abyss and plunged off....the water fell off the brink of the cliffs...waterfalls were born!!!
There are many great waterfalls of the Valley...Bridalveil Fall drops 620 feet. Ribbon Fall has the greatest single drop....of 1612 feet. Yosemite Falls is made for up of three sections and has a combined drop of 2325 feet from the rim. The Upper Fall drops 1430 feet. The Upper Fall leaps away from the cliff wall and therefore is called a free-flowing waterfall. Ribbon Fall drops for 3050 feet, but only gets credit for 1612 feet as a free- flowing waterfall because the rest of it runs down the face of the cliff wall. According to a Park Naturalist from the 1940's, very probably a small glacierette in the hanging valley of Ribbon Creek plucked out the layers and is largely responsible for the deep backward cut of the sheer -walled recess itself. Because of this recess, it is no longer a free flowing waterfall as the water hits this recess. According to World Waterfall Database, Ribbon Fall is the tallest uninterrupted waterfall in the country.
A great view of Ribbon Fall is from at Marker V11, where John Muir and President Teddy Roosevelt camped. From the short hike to Bridalveil Fall, Ribbon Fall can be seen as well. My favorite view is from the El Capitan straight away
World Waterfall Database provides the following interesting information on Ribbon Fall.
"This waterfall has been surveyed, mapped and measured in person by the World Waterfall Database.
Ribbon Fall with a sheer drop of 1,612 feet Ribbon Fall is the tallest uninterrupted waterfall in the United States, and is among the tallest sheer waterfalls on the planet. Ribbon Creek drains an area of about 4 square miles immediately to the west of El Capitan, the collective waters of which intersect Yosemite Valley about 3,000 feet above the valley floor. As the creek runs off the edge of Ribbon Valley, it carries down a slightly corkscrew-shaped plain of rock which causes the fall to twist off axis and fall to the right of its original course. The stream stays in contact with the cliff face for perhaps the first 200-300 vertical feet of the fall, and then free-falls for over one thousand feet before it sprays onto a steep skirt of the cliff face and veils the final distance to the bottom of the cliff. This contact with the cliff disqualifies Ribbon Fall from being considered a truly free-falling waterfall in that it does retain some contact with the cliff face, however the fall is entirely uninterrupted (i.e. there are no pools or pauses in the fall), so it is still appropriate to consider it to be the tallest uninterrupted waterfall in the country.
Ribbon Fall occupies a deep alcove directly to the west of the massive granite monolith El Capitan and because the falls cannot be easily seen from many of the signature views around Yosemite Valley, they are not regarded nearly as highly as Yosemite Falls or - especially - Bridalveil Fall which is situated directly across the valley. But also because Ribbon Creek drains from such a small area, it retains a consistent flow for only about half of the year, usually peaking in volume between mid April and mid May, and then quickly diminishing and running completely dry by July at the latest in most years (if not earlier). This waterfall occurs along a stream that is known to vary greatly in volume and as a result may not flow consistently year round or may dry out completely during certain periods.
OUR THOUGHTS...Ribbon Fall isn't even remotely the main attraction in Yosemite Valley - or even one of the many main attractions for that matter. But Ribbon Fall is also a very striking waterfall when it's flowing and if its flowing well (as seen in some of the recent years when Yosemite has received well above average snowpack) it can be downright spectacular. If you plan on visiting Yosemite before July, do not pass up the opportunity to seek out this waterfall - just be prepared for a less than stellar performance unless you time your visit perfectly with the peak of snow melt season.
Rain and the Rhinoceros by Thomas Merton
What a thing it is to sit absolutely alone, in the forest, at night, cherished by this wonderful, unintelligible, perfectly innocent speech, the most comforting speech in the world, the talk that rain makes by itself all over the ridges, and the talk of the watercourses everywhere in the hollows! Nobody started it, nobody is going to stop it. It will talk as long as it wants, this rain. As long as it talks, I am going to listen. Another terrific day in Yosemite Sent from my iPod Pictures taken by my iPodShare This Post!
