I posted something to my weblog that I though a number of people here might like to add their 2 cents worth regarding the confusion over Le Conte & Waterwheel Falls.

The internet is littered with images showing the same waterfall under two different names.

After having past the large cascade a ways after California Falls, it's easy to understand why many consider that Le Conte Falls, and subsequently call the next (dramatic) falls, "Waterwheel".

Also, my NGS Topo has a 4th fall listed below Waterwheel and before Return Creek, simply called "Falls" - Anyone know if that has a name?


Thanks in advance...

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Gary Crabbe
Enlightened Images

"Nearness to Nature keeps the Spirit sensitive to impressions not commonly felt, and in touch with unseen powers." - Oyihesa; Santee Dakota indian, from his book, Soul of the Indian (1911)

read this:
http://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php?3,26924,27213#msg-27213

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The picture in the link above appears to be of LeConte falls. This is Waterwheel:



Waterwheel has one big waterwheel, which is hard to get close to (but is well worth it if you don't mind the risk; I didn't climb down to the waterwheel in the picture above...), and the pictures of the one waterwheel of Waterwheel Fall will almost always have a tree in the foreground since a few big trees grow on the ledge that creates the waterwheel.

Here's a photo of someone who did (I think people in general were a bit more adventurous back in the day ):

A note of historical interest, from the 1920 pamphlet that the above picture was the cover photo, here is what it says about Waterwheel Falls:

"THE WATERWHEEL FALLS.

Muir's "wheellike whirls" undoubtedly mean the soon-to-be celebrated Waterwheel Falls. Rushing down the canyon's slanting granites under great headway, the river encounters shelves of rock projecting from its bottom. From these are thrown up enormous arcs of solid water high in air. Some of the waterwheels rise 50 feet and span 80 feet in the arc.

The spectacle is extraordinary in character and quite unequaled in beauty. Nevertheless, before the trail was built so difficult was the going that probably only a few hundred persons all told had ever seen these waterwheels."

Awesome!

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It was a bit sketchy in places, but it can be done. I had to step over a little water and there was a spot that seem to have "crumbs" on it that worried me a bit. If you go sideways and work yourself to the natural features that are not smooth rock you can work your way down. This was taken 7/14/2010

Friggin Awesome!

(in response to the adventurous... wth do I half to do?)

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/2011 07:49AM by chick-on.

I've worked my way down to the ledge right next to the big waterwheel on previous trips (not enough time on my recent day trip, nor will there be time this Sunday...). It really is impressive to be right next to (or, rather, almost under) the waterwheel, and you really get a sense for how big--and loud--the waterwheel is. Highly recommended for those who are comfortable scrambling on steep granite.

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traildad
It was a bit sketchy in places, but it can be done. I had to step over a little water and there was a spot that seem to have "crumbs" on it that worried me a bit. If you go sideways and work yourself to the natural features that are not smooth rock you can work your way down. This was taken 7/14/2010

Next time you visit Waterwheel Falls, you ought to take a photo of someone standing on those rocks on the left of your photo, striking the same pose that man in the 1920 photo did.

It would be a great then and now shot.

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plawrence

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traildad
It was a bit sketchy in places, but it can be done. I had to step over a little water and there was a spot that seem to have "crumbs" on it that worried me a bit. If you go sideways and work yourself to the natural features that are not smooth rock you can work your way down. This was taken 7/14/2010

Next time you visit Waterwheel Falls, you ought to take a photo of someone standing on those rocks on the left of your photo, striking the same pose that man in the 1920 photo did.

It would be a great then and now shot.

Gotta get the right hat, though!

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

My brother in law didn't seem to be interested in joining me. I guess he figured he better be ready to go for help in case I slipped.

From above:

LeConte:


Waterwheel:

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Quote
enlightphoto

I posted something to my weblog that I though a number of people here might like to add their 2 cents worth regarding the confusion over Le Conte & Waterwheel Falls.

The internet is littered with images showing the same waterfall under two different names.

After having past the large cascade a ways after California Falls, it's easy to understand why many consider that Le Conte Falls, and subsequently call the next (dramatic) falls, "Waterwheel".

Also, my NGS Topo has a 4th fall listed below Waterwheel and before Return Creek, simply called "Falls" - Anyone know if that has a name?

Thanks in advance...

Gary, here's a link to a list of all the waterfalls in Tuolumne County that have names that have been officially recognized by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN).

USGS: U.S. Board on Geographic Names: List of Waterfalls in Tuolumne County, California

Both Waterwheel Falls and Le Conte Falls are listed. The falls you noted beyond Waterwheel Falls (and before Return Creek) is not listed. So it doesn't have an official BGN certified name.

If you click on the name of the falls listed on the link above, you'll find the official GPS coordinates of each fall. The falls that you have displayed on your blog is indeed Le Conte Falls.

(But note that the BGN recognizes the confusion surrounding the names of the two falls in that they list under variant names the wrong names of the falls, thanks in no small part to Peter Browning's book, Yosemite Place Names, which incorrectly named the two falls.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2011 09:20PM by plawrence.

Gee, that sounds like the equivalent of all the misinformation from Craig Bates claiming the Paiutes were really Miwoks. I guess I'll have to get a copy of Mr. Browning's book.

Quote
plawrence

Quote
enlightphoto

I posted something to my weblog that I though a number of people here might like to add their 2 cents worth regarding the confusion over Le Conte & Waterwheel Falls.

The internet is littered with images showing the same waterfall under two different names.

After having past the large cascade a ways after California Falls, it's easy to understand why many consider that Le Conte Falls, and subsequently call the next (dramatic) falls, "Waterwheel".

Also, my NGS Topo has a 4th fall listed below Waterwheel and before Return Creek, simply called "Falls" - Anyone know if that has a name?

Thanks in advance...

Gary, here's a link to a list of all the waterfalls in Tuolumne County that have names that have been officially recognized by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN).

USGS: U.S. Board on Geographic Names: List of Waterfalls in Tuolumne County, California

Both Waterwheel Falls and Le Conte Falls are listed. The falls you noted beyond Waterwheel Falls (and before Return Creek) is not listed. So it doesn't have an official BGN certified name.

If you click on the name of the falls listed on the link above, you'll find the official GPS coordinates of each fall. The falls that you have displayed on your blog is indeed Le Conte Falls.

(But note that the BGN recognizes the confusion surrounding the names of the two falls in that they list under variant names the wrong names of the falls, thanks in no small part to Peter Browning's book, Yosemite Place Names, which incorrectly named the two falls.

This is great information. Thanks.