Brink of the Lower Falls

• Way back in 1870, a member of the Washburn party, Mr. N.P. Langford described the Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone in this way: “A grander scene than the lower cataract of the Yellowstone was never witnessed by mortal eyes.”

At 308 feet, the Lower Falls is the tallest waterfall in the park. In terms of height alone, it’s more than twice the size of Niagara Falls. The amount of water flowing over the falls varies greatly depending on the season. At peak runoff times in the spring, 63,500 gal/sec flow over the falls, whereas at lower runoff times in the fall, the flow diminishes to 5,000 gal/sec.