Grand Falls
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Grand Falls is a waterfall in Arizona, at a modelled elevation of 1,354 m. Sugarloaf Peak stands 2,829 m to the west, 24 miles off. San Francisco Peaks Scenic Road passes 30 miles off. 127 named places lie within 25 miles, 59 of them named summits.
The story
Grand Falls is a natural waterfall system located 30 miles (48.3 kilometers) northeast of Flagstaff, Arizona in the Painted Desert on the Navajo Nation. It is also called Chocolate Falls because of the color. It dumps snow melt or seasonal rain into the gorge of the Little Colorado River below. It is known for its extremely muddy flow, which is a major contributor of Little Colorado River opacity. Heavy rains or snow melt will produce spectacular viewing, photography, and sound, whereas a scarcity of water will produce only trickles or no flow at all. Grand Falls was formed when lava from nearby Merriam Crater in the San Francisco volcanic field flowed into the Little Colorado River, creating a lava dam. The river was forced to reroute itself around the dam and Grand Falls formed where the river rejoins its original course.
The waterfall is remote and no major paved roads access it. The closest road, Grand Falls Road, crosses the floor of the Little Colorado River and at times during the year, only a four-wheel-drive vehicle can traverse it. The falls are dormant for months of the year and reduced to only a drip. To access the falls a passenger car can reach the south side of the river. However, a four-wheel-drive vehicle is then required and only Navajo guides or experienced back-country people are advised to take the road across the river. The Falls used to be open to tourists prior to March 2023, but has since then been closed for its safety to the local environment.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q5594537, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Height
- 56 m
How to reach it
- 30.0 mi off the San Francisco Peaks Scenic Road
Overlooks nearby
- Petroglyph Overlook · 24 mi
127 named places within 25 miles
- Roden Crater: 3.2 mi
- Merriam Mountain: 7.8 mi
- Merriam Crater: 8.0 mi
- The Sproul: 8.8 mi
- North Sheba Crater: 9.1 mi
- Little Roden Spring: 4.8 mi
- Roden Spring: 5.1 mi
- Box Spring: 5.6 mi
- Coyote Spring: 9.8 mi
- Peshlaki Spring: 10.0 mi
- Tse Lichii Point: 12.9 mi
- Doney Cliffs: 13.7 mi
- Doney Cliffs: 14.1 mi
- Doney Cliffs: 14.4 mi
- Doney Cliffs: 14.6 mi
- Grand Falls: 0.0 mi
- Wupatki Blowhole: 11.6 mi
- Lava Flow Trail: 18.4 mi
- Gorge: 18.6 mi
- Two Guns: 22.5 mi
- South Space: 3.0 mi
- East Portal: 3.2 mi
- Crater Bowl: 3.2 mi
- Twin Arrows: 19.0 mi
- Strawberry Crater Wilderness: 12.9 mi
- Wupatki National Monument: 14.8 mi
- Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument: 17.9 mi
- Walnut Canyon National Monument: 23.8 mi
- Painted Desert Vista Picnic Area: 13.2 mi
- Peaks View County Park: 21.3 mi
- Smoke Rise Park: 24.7 mi
- Smokerise Park: 24.7 mi
- House Rock: 12.5 mi
- Canyon Diablo: 18.9 mi
- Twin Arrows: 19.0 mi
- Tolchico: 7.7 mi
- Twin Arrows Trading Post: 19.0 mi
- Black Falls: 10.4 mi
- Sunset Crater Volcano Visitor Center: 19.7 mi
- Meteor Crater Rest Area: 25.0 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 25 miles of Grand Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sugarloaf Peak | W 259° | 2,829 m | 23.7 mi |
| Little Elden Mountain | WSW 244° | 2,749 m | 24.9 mi |
| O'Leary Peak | W 264° | 2,718 m | 18.4 mi |
| Darton Dome | W 263° | 2,562 m | 18.1 mi |
| Double Crater | WSW 247° | 2,440 m | 15.1 mi |
| Robinson Mountain | W 262° | 2,411 m | 19.5 mi |
| Sunset Crater | WSW 255° | 2,350 m | 17.5 mi |
| Robinson Crater | W 263° | 2,321 m | 19.9 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:29 | 19:03 | 19:37 |
| June solstice | 06:11 | 20:06 | 20:44 |
| September equinox | 07:14 | 18:50 | 19:23 |
| December solstice | 07:31 | 16:37 | 17:17 |
Local time (America/Denver).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Apr–Jun, Aug–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 37 | 42 | 50 | 57 | 66 | 77 | 81 | 78 | 71 | 59 | 46 | 36 |
| Precip in | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.6 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Wupatki NM, 12 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/6356066295
Day trips start here
- Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument · 17 mi
- Flagstaff · 29 mi
Take the scenic way to Grand Falls.
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