Palouse Falls

The falls drop about sixty metres into a circular basalt basin, and the canyon around them is a product of the Missoula Floods - repeated ice age outburst floods that scoured the Columbia Plateau and left the coulees, dry falls and channelled scablands across eastern Washington. The Palouse River now runs through a channel far larger than it could have cut. It was made Washington's state waterfall in 2014 after a campaign led by schoolchildren. There is no legal trail to the base and the informal route down is dangerous; several people have died, including from swimming above the lip, and the park has fenced and closed routes. Flow is strongest in spring and drops substantially by late summer.

What you actually see

• A drop of about sixty metres - into a circular basalt basin.
• A channel cut by ice age floods - far larger than the current river.
• Washington's state waterfall - designated in 2014.
• Scabland country around it - scoured plateau and dry coulees.

When to go

March to June for flow. Two hours.

Honest expectations

There is no legal route to the base and people have died on the informal one. Swimming above the falls has killed people. Late summer flow is much reduced. It is remote with no services and a Discover Pass is required.

Nearby

Lyons Ferry is south; the Palouse farmland is north.