Toketee Falls
Interesting facts
- The North Umpqua, which forms the falls, rises from Maidu Lake at nearly 6,000 feet in the Mount Thielsen Wilderness.
- The river's famous emerald colour and steady cool flow come from snowmelt soaked up by volcanic soil and pumice and released through the summer.
- In summer the North Umpqua carries about twenty times as much water as the neighbouring South Umpqua.
- The protected stretch downstream is restricted to fly fishing and is renowned among anglers for its steelhead and salmon runs.
- Further downstream at Glide, the North Umpqua meets the Little River at a spot known as the Colliding Rivers.
- Between 1955 and 1969 the river's watershed was heavily clear-cut, with some tributary streambeds used as makeshift logging roads.
- Toketee is pronounced TOKE-uh-tee, and the falls lie on the river's upper course inside the Umpqua National Forest.
Why it is worth it
On the North Umpqua River in the Oregon Cascades, the water squeezes through a narrow slot of dark lava and drops in two stages into a round, emerald pool framed by tall columns of basalt. Toketee Falls owes its look to that rock: an ancient lava flow cooled into columns, and the river has carved a winding gorge through it, leaving the falls set like a stage between fluted grey pillars. The upper tier drops about 28 feet into a pool, then the river plunges a further 85 feet or so, for a total of around 113 feet (34 m).
The name is Chinook Jargon, the old trade language of the Pacific Northwest, and means "pretty" or "graceful". It was made official by the United States Board on Geographic Names in 1916, chosen over the rival names Ireland Falls and Toketie Falls. Because the North Umpqua is a sizeable river rather than a seasonal creek, the falls keeps running all year, unlike many Oregon waterfalls that fade in summer.
The river above the falls is also put to work. Just upstream, a dam built by PacifiCorp as part of the North Umpqua Hydroelectric Project forms Toketee Lake, and much of the river's water is carried past the falls in a penstock to generate power, so the volume over the falls is lower than it once was. A post office named Toketee Falls operated from 1952 to 1956 while the hydroelectric works were under construction. A 33.8-mile stretch of the North Umpqua has been protected as a National Wild and Scenic River since 1988. The short trail to the viewpoint passes through old-growth forest of Douglas fir, bigleaf maple and western red cedar before reaching a platform above the gorge.
Getting there
Toketee Falls lies in Douglas County, Oregon, at the confluence of the North Umpqua and Clearwater rivers, near Oregon Route 138 and northwest of the north entrance to Crater Lake National Park. Roseburg is about 58 miles (93 km) to the west. The nearest airport is Rogue Valley International–Medford Airport (MFR), about 105 km away.
On these lists
From the encyclopaedia
Toketee Falls is a waterfall in Douglas County, Oregon, United States, on the North Umpqua River at its confluence with the Clearwater River. It is located approximately 58 miles (93 km) east of Roseburg near Oregon Route 138, northwest of the North Entrance to Crater Lake. Toketee, is a Chinook Jargon word meaning "pretty" or "graceful". The falls was officially named by a United States Board on Geographic Names decision in 1916, over alternate names Ireland Falls and Toketie Falls.
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