Crystal Creek Falls by photosynthesis

Photography • Scenic • posted on Nov 12, 2013

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Description

Crystal Creek Falls is located in the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area in northern California. Here's a short description of it from the National Park Service website: "Lower Crystal Creek Falls is the only "man-made" waterfall in the park. When the Central Valley Project was designed in the 1920s, an important component was the diversion of a large portion of the Trinity River to Whiskeytown Lake and from there to the Sacramento River. A 17-mile tunnel was excavated to transport the water underground from Trinity Dam to Carr Powerhouse and the tailings were dumped in the area near Crystal Creek Falls. When it is necessary to shut down Carr Powerhouse for maintenance or to enter the tunnel for cleaning, the valve is turned and the excess water from the tunnel spills into Crystal Creek. When the overflow structure was built, the Bureau of Reclamation rerouted Crystal Creek. The creek was moved about 50 feet to the left to make a shortcut over the cliff, creating this picturesque waterfall." It's a very short & flat 1/3 mile paved trail (wheelchair accessible) from the parking area to the falls & there are a couple of picnic tables within view of the falls, so a convenient & pleasant place to have lunch - which we did... Please zoom.