GigaPan via PhotoSynth: A Walk in the Gorge

Wahkeena Creek
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This image was one of the most precarious GigaPan placements I've made yet, in the middle of the stream near splashing cascades on a moss and fern covered stump.


Differing from most of the waterfall streams in the Columbia River Gorge in that it drains from a natural spring on the rim of the Gorge, Wahkeena Creek tumbles over a steep incline on its way to the spectacular Wahkeena Falls near the bottom of the Gorge. It is also spelled "Wahkeenah" or "Wah-kee-nah" or other variations. All spellings of this word are dubious, because the word is merely an English transliteration of a Pacific Northwest Native American (reportedly Yakama) phrase meaning "most beautiful". Wahkeena Creek is along the Historic Columbia River Highway, about 13 miles (21 km) east of Troutdale, Oregon. A short hike uphill from the parking lot at the base leads to the stone bridge that crosses the main part of the falls. That trail continues on east to Multnomah Falls, the next falls down the road.