Monday 23 June 2014
The Oneonta Gorge
is in the Columbia River Gorge in the American state of Oregon. The U.S. Forest
Service has designated it as a botanical area because of the unique aquatic and
woodland plants that grow there. The basalt walls are home to a wide variety of
ferns, mosses, hepatics and lichens, many of which grow only in the Columbia
River Gorge. Oneonta Creek runs through the gorge. There are four major
waterfalls on the creek. Middle Oneonta Falls can be seen clearly from a
footpath and is very often mistaken for the upper or lower falls. The lower
gorge has been preserved as a natural habitat, so there is no boardwalk or
footpath through it as such. Thus, Lower Oneonta Falls can only be seen by
walking upstream from the creek's outlet at the Historic Columbia River Highway.
To get to a vantage point where the entire lower falls is visible can require
wading through water that in some places can be chest-deep, depending on the
season and the relative amount of snow-melt. Source
