Lower Yellowstone Falls

In 1870, explorer N.P. Langford described the magnificence of the Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone as "A grander scene than the lower cataract of the Yellowstone was never witnessed by mortal eyes." I was amazed by this sight when I first saw it as a child, and this view is even more magnificent each subsequent visit to Artist Point in Yellowstone National Park. It's a view not to be missed. And judging by all of the people jostling for a view and to get their photo taken, many people haven't missed it. The Yellowstone River flows north from Yellowstone Lake, leaving the Hayden Valley and plunging first over Upper Yellowstone Falls and then a quarter mile (400 m) downstream over Lower Yellowstone Falls, at which point it then enters the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, which is up to 1,000 feet (304 m) deep. The lower falls are 308 feet (94 m) high, or almost twice as high as Niagara, although not nearly as wide.