High Water

Fall Creek

By "High Water" is meant an unusually high flow in a waterway or waterfall. The US Geological Survey (USGS) often places stream flow gauges near hydroelectric power plants to tell just how much water is going by. This flow is measured in cubic feet per second (cfs), and readings are posted to the Internet. The only such gage I've been able to find in the Ithaca area is the one at Fall Creek, located online at
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv/?site_no=04234000.
  • The stream flow at Fall Creek is normally between 100 and 300 cfs during periods of little or no rain.

  • In September of 2004 after several days of rain the flow at Fall Creek was briefly around 1800 cfs.

  • In late November it broke 1000 again.

  • On January 14, 2005, it reached more than 2300 cfs, which is considerable, especially for the middle of January. (The record appears to have been over 15,000 cfs in the summer of 1935.)

Then on the morning of April 3, 2005, it broke 6100 cfs, which has happened only four times since recording began in 1926. The path to Ithaca Falls at Fall Creek was under a foot or more of water in several places so the Falls were unapproachable. (See left figure below.) The only real view of the Falls was from the road a couple hundred yards away. (See right figure below.)

Path to Falls Flooded Hi-Water Ithaca Falls from the Road
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For comparison, the images below show Ithaca Falls at normal flow, 1000 cfs and 2300 cfs.

Ithaca Falls @ a few hundred cfs Ithaca Falls @ 1000 cfs Ithaca Falls @ 2300 cfs
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Also on Fall Creek are the Triphammer Falls. Below are shots of these falls at normal flow and at 6100 cfs.

Triphammer Falls @ a few hundred cfs Triphammer Falls @ a 6100 cfs
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Taughannock Falls

At Taughannock Falls the increase in stream flow is not so dramatic as it is at Ithaca and Triphammer Falls, but it's still very noticeable.

The photos below show three views of Taughannock Falls at normal and at high water:

Taughannock Falls, viewpoint 1, regular flow Taughannock Falls, viewpoint 1, high water
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Taughannock Falls, viewpoint 2, regular flow Taughannock Falls, viewpoint 2, high water
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Taughannock Falls, viewpoint 3, regular flow Taughannock Falls, viewpoint 3, high water
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Van Natta Dam

Van Natta Dam on Six Mile Creek in Ithaca, NY, is another falls that responds dramatically to larger volumes of water. Unfortunately most of the views of it are inaccessible during high water. Still, the following three comparison shots are impressive.

Van Natta Dam - Nornmal Water Flow Van Natta Dam - High Water Flow Van Natta Dam - Very High Water Flow
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Buttermilk Falls

The first photo below is a head-on shot of Buttermilk Falls with normal stream flow. The second, from the same viewpoint, shows the falls after heavy spring rains and snow-melt.

Buttermilk Falls - Nornmal Water Flow Buttermilk Falls - Very High Water
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Snoqualmie Falls

Larger falls, of course, have a larger stream flow. See photos of Snoqualmie Falls in Washington State, where it typically reaches 20,000 cfs or more a couple times a year.