Big Falls
Big Falls is a waterfall in Montana, at a modelled elevation of 893 m. Highwood Baldy stands 2,334 m to the east-southeast, 25 miles off. The nearest named place is Ryan Dam Island Park, a park 0.2 miles away. Kings Hill Scenic Byway passes 18 miles off. 23 named summits stand within 25 miles.
The story
Big Falls (also called Great Falls or Roar of Steam) is a major waterfall located on the Missouri River in western Montana in the United States. It is the lowermost and largest of the Great Falls of the Missouri, at 87 feet (27 m) high and up to 900 feet (270 m) wide at peak flow. Although the falls used to flow powerfully year-round, most of the water is now diverted to the 60 megawatt hydroelectric plant of upstream Ryan Dam, reducing it to a trickle in the summer months. The dam raised the total height of the water to 177 feet. The Mandan Indians knew of the group of the falls and called them by a descriptive (but not formal) name: Minni-Soze-Tanka-Kun-Ya, or "the great falls." The specific Grand Falls was named by William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805. Cottonwoods grow nearby, and the nearby shrubland habitat provides an environment for juniper, mule deer, and eagles. Various species of birds live below the falls.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q5599144, matched on coordinates and name (59 m apart).
What the record says
- Height
- 27 m
How to reach it
- 18.5 mi off the Kings Hill Scenic Byway
Named places within 25 miles
- Ryan Dam Island Park: 0.2 mi
- Giant Springs State Park: 5.4 mi
- Heron Park: 6.4 mi
- Pinski Park: 6.8 mi
- Graybill Park: 6.9 mi
- Indian Butte: 7.1 mi
- Smelter Hill: 7.6 mi
- Shepherd Butte: 8.6 mi
- Rattlesnake Hill: 9.9 mi
- Hill Fifty-seven: 10.4 mi
- Malmstrom Museum: 5.6 mi
- Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center: 5.9 mi
- Cascade County Historical Society Museum: 8.6 mi
- C. M. Russell Museum: 8.6 mi
- Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art: 8.6 mi
- Sulphur Spring: 3.8 mi
- Giant Springs: 5.5 mi
- Newman Spring: 17.6 mi
- Crooked Falls: 4.1 mi
- Rainbow Falls: 4.4 mi
- Black Eagle Falls: 7.4 mi
- Rainbow Dam: 4.5 mi
- Black Eagle Dam: 7.3 mi
- Electric City Speedway: 8.0 mi
- Kid Russel & Monte: 9.4 mi
- Kid Russell and Monte Statue: 10.0 mi
- Lewis and Clark Statue: 10.1 mi
- Montana Veterans Memorial: 7.4 mi
- First Peoples Buffalo Jump SP: 19.7 mi
- West Side Orchard Garden: 11.2 mi
- Carter: 16.6 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 25 miles of Big Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highwood Baldy | ESE 111° | 2,334 m | 24.6 mi |
| Pinewood Peak | ESE 113° | 2,082 m | 23.4 mi |
| Comers Butte | ESE 120° | 1,650 m | 22.6 mi |
| Gossack Mountain | E 97° | 1,578 m | 20.1 mi |
| Harris Mountain | E 98° | 1,544 m | 18.3 mi |
| Belt Butte | SE 139° | 1,415 m | 17.1 mi |
| Creamery Hill | S 183° | 1,341 m | 22.4 mi |
| Blankenbaker Hill | S 174° | 1,322 m | 21.2 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:28 | 18:57 | 19:37 |
| June solstice | 05:28 | 20:38 | 21:26 |
| September equinox | 07:12 | 18:44 | 19:24 |
| December solstice | 08:11 | 15:43 | 16:36 |
Local time (America/Denver).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 27 | 29 | 37 | 46 | 54 | 63 | 70 | 69 | 59 | 48 | 36 | 28 |
| Precip in | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Great Falls 16st, 9 mi away.
Months at or above the year’s average flow: Apr–Jul — fullest in Jun, leanest in Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean cfs | 5,942 | 6,112 | 6,418 | 7,214 | 10,740 | 13,057 | 8,177 | 5,710 | 5,373 | 5,496 | 5,784 | 5,776 |
USGS monthly mean discharge at gauge Missouri River near Great Falls MT, 3 mi away — the nearest gauge, which can sit on a different stream.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapOpenStreetMap element node/480320412
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