At various times, I've thought:
- There was only one falls, and this was probably it (it's not; see below):
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| everything wasn't pink in the '50's; the photo color has degraded |
- There were more falls, but they were almost all covered up by dams
- There wasn't a single Great Falls, but the name refers to the series
- There is a single Great Falls, and the one above (which is actually Rainbow Falls) is it
- The city was built right next to the Great Falls...because this would be logical, right?
All of these suppositions are erroneous, to one degree or another. But it's not too hard to see how I got confused. The city itself doesn't make it really easy to sort them all out, not to mention to even find them all! It's sort of like, I guess, attractions in Vermont: if you don't know where they are and how to get to them, you have no business seeing them (we love Vermont but their directional signage leaves a lot to be desired).
I want to share what we learned with you, in case you want to check out these fabulous falls yourself someday.
We started our explorations at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, a very nice museum, with interesting exhibits about the expedition (Lewis and Clark's, not ours; see a commemorative marker about their route above on the left).
Here is a map that I found on the Center's website (click to enlarge), but I don't remember seeing it on display there. It does point out the approximate locations of the various falls, but, as we found out, it's a less than ideal guide for how to get to them.
This handy map, though, does single-handedly correct my earlier errors...
- Yes, there is one Great Falls
- But there is also a series of falls (the series aspect is what made the Lewis and Clark portage such an arduous one...it took them a month!)
- There is only one submerged falls
- But only one is unencumbered by a dam
...leaving, however, still unanswered the question of why the city wasn't built next to the Great Falls. Well, I guess all cities have their historical quirks and unsolved mysteries!
At any rate, we had a very pleasant walk along the river near the Center, which is up on the embankment...
From up there, this is the view of the Missouri, looking upstream, toward town...
As you can see, we had gorgeous weather, which stayed with us for the rest of our trip.
Just a short ways downstream from the Center is Giant Springs, a phenomenal outgushing of clear water that I can remember being entranced by during visits here as a child.
One of the largest springs in the country, I wouldn't be surprised if it's the loveliest...
If you want to read what Lewis and Clark had to say about the clarity of the spring's water, the nifty website Discovering Lewis and Clark has all the info. You can also read their Journals straight through (which I did last year, although in printed form; they really are fascinating) courtesy of the fine folks at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
It's not too hard to find Rainbow Falls, the first falls downstream from the Center and the Springs. The old picture above is of this falls, taken in either 1955 or 1956. Here's how it looks today...not a lot different!
Despite the dam interfering with the vision of how they looked to Lewis and Clark, they really are quite attractive. Especially in the high-water season when we saw them. Here's a section (in the foreground of the shot above) showcasing a shelf that is especially photogenic...
One thing Rainbow Dam has to answer for is the submerging of Colter Falls, just upstream. But, contrary to some of my previous mis-information, that's the only submerged fall in the series.
But there's only one fall not affected by a dam: Crooked Falls, which I remember seeing from the overlook above Rainbow Falls. Fortunately Steve got a picture of it, or at least what you can see of it from the Rainbow Falls overlook, since I apparently did not. (You can see a closer-up photo of it on this website, which, although in need of some proofreading, has nice photos and info about all the falls.)
Unfortunately, we couldn't figure out how to get to Crooked Falls, which is why we don't have a closer shot. There didn't seem to be a public road headed that way, just a bike path, and there's no road close to the river on the other bank. I think the city is missing a tourist opportunity here by not having an easy-to-follow byway to all the falls...
But the next falls we saw is right in the middle of town (where you'd expect to find the Great Falls, wouldn't you?). Much easier to find, and pretty spectacular, it's called Black Eagle...
Now, it might be argued that these falls look so stupendous because 1) it's high water season, and 2) the river's so wide, any rapids would be an eyeful. But still, that's a very impressive fall of water!
At Black Eagle we opted to go down to the park that lets you see the falls from river level...
And, just for fun, I'm including an old photo of this falls, seen during considerably different weather conditions!
I'm assuming the river was frozen solid, because those sure look like tire tracks on the ice!
After a fruitless search for the Great Falls (cut short due to a need for dinner) that evening, we were finally
What's required is a more careful reading of the maps on our phones, a realization that the dam at the falls is Ryan Dam (not Great Falls Dam), and a willingness to drive through what seems like an awfully lot of empty countryside (5+ miles) before reaching the goal.
Why the heck did they make the town so far away from its namesake falls? As tripadvisor puts it, it's "tucked away so nicely." I'll say. It's been given more prominence on various official Montana artwork: on the right is the territorial seal (Montana became a state in 1889). Isn't that a lovely scene?
As it turns out, there's a very nice little park and picnic area on Ryan Island just below the dam, with lots of fabulous views on offer. As much trouble as it was to find, it's a real gem and worth the drive.
Here's a panoramic shot of the falls, especially impressive with the dam releasing so much water. This season is probably the best time to see them most like Lewis first did...
There's a series of informative signs, perfectly placed for contrasting some old photos with the current sight, that tell about the falls' and dam's geological, cultural, and industrial history. Of course connected, intimately, with good old Lewis and Clark. Click on this image to enlarge it and you can read a little about their first glimpse of the cascade, expressed in Lewis' wonderful early American language, as well as see a pre-dam photo:
The "gorge" mentioned in the sign is pretty impressive by itself. Here's a shot looking downstream from the falls:
This photo was taken from the middle of a little suspension bridge that leads to the island picnic grounds. The place wasn't too crowded when we were there; I wonder if this—much needed—warning sign sometimes results in traffic jams?
And that's not the only alarming sign on the property. There's a duplicate of the one below, too. Henry took this photo of the sibs the day before, at Black Eagle Dam, but the "8 blasts" seems to be some sort of standard. Which led us to wonder, "Why eight?" and, "What if, when you start hearing blasts, you panic and lose count?"
Fortunately, no blasts were heard while we were there, and we thoroughly enjoyed our visits to all 4 extant falls. You can't help wishing you could see them in their natural state, but even straight-jacketed as they are, they're impressive pieces of river scenery.
Besides, we were able to see lots and lots and lots of unfettered river frontage, and natural falls, in the course of our time in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. I've already showed you the eponymous Idaho Falls, and, of course, that other Great Falls, on the Yellowstone. Next time I'll take you on a tour of all the rivers and falls, famous and not, that we got to see in their full spring finery.
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