Ki-a-Kuts Falls

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The waterfall

Ki-a-Kuts Falls is the name of a 12.2 m high waterfall on the Tualatin River in Washington County in Oregon , United States . The waterfall was only discovered in 1993 on the remote upper reaches of the river and is at an altitude of 396  m . It was named after Ki-a-Kuts, the last chief of the Atfalati tribe who once lived there .

history

In July 1993 a group of eight hikers explored the upper reaches of the Tualatin River. During this hike, the group came across the unmapped waterfall. Upon their return, the group campaigned for the waterfall to be entered on the maps and given a name by the United States Board on Geographic Names and state agencies. Names like Lost Falls and Riverkeepers Falls were initially suggested before the group agreed on the name Ki-a-Kuts Falls to honor the river valley's former residents. The Oregon Authority accepted the name on June 10, 1999.

In a ceremony on site, the waterfall was christened on June 21, 1999 with the participation of representatives of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde . Ki-a-Kut is the name of the last chief of the Indians from the Atfalati tribe who used to live in the area and belonged to the Kalapuya language group. They inhabited the valley on the Tualatin River before the arrival of white settlers and were decimated by epidemics after the Columbian Exchange in the early 19th century. The survivors were driven from their land and resettled with members of other tribes on the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation in what is now Polk County .

Description of the waterfall

Ki-a-Kuts Falls has a total height of 12.2 m. It falls as a simple cascade down a narrow rock channel and falls into a water-filled basin at its foot, which is shielded from view by trees. The fact that the river bends at this point contributed to the fact that the waterfall was not shown on maps and was only discovered so late. The waterfall is located around 520 m above (west) the confluence of the Maple Creek in the Tualatin River and around 2200 m north of the Barney Reservoir and thus west of the town of Gaston and the Henry Hagg Lake , around 5.5 km east of the border with Tillamook County within the Tillamook State Forests . Hyphenated geographic names are often rejected by the United States Board of Geographic Names, but in this case the name was accepted to honor the Indian chief. The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde had requested that the last part of the name be written with a K instead of C, as the name was originally proposed.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Alex Pulaski: A cascade christening (English) , The Oregonian. July 1, 1999, p. 1. 
  2. ↑ a b Jill Smith: Making a difference eight years ago, Susan Peter and seven companions (English) , The Oregonian. April 25, 2002, p. 14. 
  3. ↑ a b Peter, S., Ewart, S .: Exploring the Tualatin River Basin: A Nature and Recreation Guide ( English ). Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, OR 2002, pp. 5, 22-23.
  4. ↑ a b Ki-a-Kuts Falls ( English ) In: Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved May 2, 2009.
  5. ↑ Helen Dalrymple: What's in a Name? ( English ) In: Information Bulletin . Library of Congress. February 2000. Retrieved May 6, 2009.

Web links

Commons : Ki-a-Kuts Falls  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 45 ° 27'59 "  N , 123 ° 23'16"  W.