Silver Falls State Park
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Silver Falls State Park
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 Waterfall in Silver Falls State Park |
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| location | Marion County in Oregon (USA) | |
| surface | 36 km² | |
| Geographical location | 44 ° 31 ' N , 122 ° 23' W | |
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| administration | Oregon Parks and Recreation Dept. | |
The Silver Falls State Park is the largest state park in the US state of Oregon with over 36 km² . It is located 42 km east of Salem in Marion County .
location
The state park is at an altitude of 300 to 670 m at the foot of the Cascade Mountains . The North Fork and South Fork of Silver Creek flow through the park , the confluence of the two river arms is in the northwest of the park. The two river arms each flow through a gorge with a total of ten larger waterfalls.
| Surname | height |
|---|---|
| South Falls | 60 m |
| Lower South Falls | 30 m |
| Middle North Falls | 35 m |
| North Falls | 45 m |
| Lower North Falls | 10 m |
| Drake Falls | 9 m |
| Upper North Falls | 20 m |
| Double Falls | 60 m |
| Winter Falls | 45 m |
| Twin Falls | 10 m |
geology
In the Miocene , in what is now the northwestern United States, large-scale volcanic eruptions formed the Columbia Plateau basalt . The current area of the park was also flooded with basaltic lava. This created layers of hard basalt on the soft sandstone that forms the bedrock here.
As a result, the watercourses eroded the soft bedrock and dug deep ravines into it, while the basalt layers were only slowly removed. This created steps in the terrain where the water falls over the basalt layers into the gorges.
Due to the considerable differences in the hardness of bedrock and cover rock, cavities were created under the (then overhanging) basalt slabs in the area of the waterfalls. These caverns, some of which have been artificially enlarged, allow in some cases (especially South Falls and North Falls) to pass behind the falling water.
In the area of waterfalls also called let Tree fireplaces (engl. Tree chimneys ) observed. These are cavities that were created by the inclusion of tree trunks in the lava and subsequent weathering.
history
The park area was originally settled by Kalapuyan Indians , who had to relocate to the Grand Ronde Reservation in the 19th century . The Kalapuyans used the area as a hunting area, but also for spiritual and cultural purposes.
In the 19th century, the area was largely cleared by white settlers. As a result of the timber industry, a small settlement called Silver Falls City was created near the South Falls in 1888, but it was abandoned by the early 1930s. In the 1920s, the South Falls were marketed commercially by their owner. An entrance fee was charged for the tour and old cars were thrown over the falls in spectacular actions. A daredevil named Al Faussett is said to have rushed down the falls in a specially equipped canoe. The state park was founded primarily on the initiative of photographer June Drake from Silverton , in March 1931 Drake acquired the first 36 hectares of land on the South Falls and then transferred them to the state. On July 23, 1933, the park was officially established. In 1935, the US government designated the park as a Recreational Demonstration Area , one of only two such areas on the US west coast. In the following years, the area was expanded through purchases and donations of land that was little used as a result of clearing and forest fires. In 2006 the park area was enlarged by a further 147 ha to 3665 ha today.
By designating it as a Recreation Demonstration Area, the National Park Service assumed responsibility for the park, and the Civilian Conservation Corps was commissioned to further develop the park area. The Civilian Conservation Corps set up camp in the park, and the more than 200 workers built many of the buildings, paths, and other facilities that still exist today, and planted over a million trees, according to National Park Service design guidelines. In 1947 the park was returned to the state of Oregon. The Friends of Silver Falls have been volunteering for the maintenance and expansion of the state park since 1986 . They run the shop at the historic South Falls Lodge and research the history of the state park. According to the Friends of Silver Falls, nearly a million guests visit the park annually.
The Silver Falls Lodge since 1983, the Silver Creek Youth Camp since 2002 in the National Register of Historic Places entered.
Flora and fauna
After afforestation in the 1930s, the park is now forested again. The park is located in a temperate rainforest with partially old Douglas firs, West American hemlocks and giant trees of life. Numerous animal species live in the park, such as black bears, pumas, beavers, gray foxes, otters, mule deer and elk.
activities
The park has a large campsite. Day trippers mainly come to South Fall, which has picnic areas and short walks to South Fall. This is also where the South Falls Lodge is located, which was handcrafted by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1940 using stones and woods available in the park. It served as a restaurant from 1946 until the late 1950s. In 1978 it was restored and now serves as a visitor information center.
In summer you can also swim in Silver Creek. The park has a total of 40 km of hiking trails, 22 km of bridle paths and a 6 km long paved bike course. The most famous hiking trail is the Canyon Trail, also known as the Trail of Ten Falls, a 14 km long National Recreation Trail that runs along the south arm and on to the north arm of Silver Creek with its ten waterfalls. Four of the falls are accessible, which means that you can walk behind the waterfall.
Trivia
The park has served as a film set several times, e.g. B. for the horror film Before Dawn and The Huntsman's Hour .
literature
- Jan Bannan: Oregon State Parks: A complete Recreation Guide. Mountaineer Books, 2nd edition 2002, ISBN 978-0-89886794-7
Web links
- Oregon State Parks: Silver Falls State Park
- Oregon Encyclopaedia: Silver Falls State Park ( April 30, 2014 memento on the Internet Archive )
- Friends of Silver Falls homepage
- Silver Falls State Park on the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System
Individual evidence
- ↑ Land donations to state parks in Oregon. Retrieved April 2, 2011 .
- ^ National Register of Historic Places, Oregon, Marion County. Retrieved April 12, 2011 .
- ^ Oregon Movies Web. Retrieved May 2, 2011 .
- ↑ IMDb> The Hour of the Hunter (2003)> Filming locations. Retrieved October 8, 2012 .