Potem Falls
Potem Falls is a waterfall in California, at a modelled elevation of 358 m. Snow Mountain stands 2,076 m to the east-southeast, 13 miles off. The nearest named place is Little Round Mountain, a peak 1.9 miles away.
The story
The Pit River is a major river draining from northeastern California into the state's Central Valley. The Pit, the Klamath and the Columbia are the only three rivers in the U.S. that cross the Cascade Range. The longest tributary of the Sacramento River, it contributes as much as eighty percent of their combined water volume into the Shasta Lake reservoir; the junction of their Shasta Lake arms is 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Shasta Dam. The main stem of the Pit River is 207 miles (333 km) long, and some water in the system flows 265 miles (426 km) to the Sacramento River measuring from the Pit River's longest source. The Pit River drains a sparsely populated volcanic highlands area in Modoc County's Warner Mountains, passing through the south end of the Cascade Range in a deep canyon northeast of Redding. The river is so named because of the semi-subterranean permanent winter homes and large 'sweat houses' that the Pit River Tribe dug, and their pit traps for game that came to water at the river. The river is a popular destination for fishing, fly fishing, and rafting in its lower reaches, and is used to generate hydroelectricity in the powerhouses below Fall River Mills where the Pit and Fall rivers join, and at Shasta Dam. It is also used extensively for irrigation and conservation purposes.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q7234793, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
How to reach it
Named places within 25 miles
- Little Round Mountain: 1.9 mi
- Sage Hen Hill: 2.9 mi
- Bluejay Mountain: 3.0 mi
- Hogback Mountain: 3.4 mi
- Manzanita Hill: 4.0 mi
- Burney Civic Park: 18.8 mi
- Washburn Blue Park: 19.2 mi
- Clair Engle Park: 20.6 mi
- Veterans Memorial Park: 20.8 mi
- Shasta Park: 21.4 mi
- Three Falls: 5.0 mi
- Hatchet Creek Falls: 5.2 mi
- Montgomery Creek Falls: 5.2 mi
- Hatchet Falls: 7.4 mi
- Lion Slide Falls: 7.4 mi
- Afterthought Mine: 7.6 mi
- Ladies cabin: 19.1 mi
- Smithy: 19.1 mi
- Dam Builders Monument: 20.7 mi
- Veteran's Monument: 20.8 mi
- McCloud Bridge Day Use: 13.2 mi
- Bailey Cove Day Use: 15.3 mi
- Salt Creek Picnic Area: 16.2 mi
- Behive Beach: 19.7 mi
- Fishermans Point: 21.9 mi
- The Rim: 8.6 mi
- Bonnie Craigs: 21.0 mi
- Palisade Cliff: 21.8 mi
- Gray Cliff: 23.5 mi
- Red Cliff: 24.3 mi
- Lema Ranch: 23.0 mi
- Oak Savannah Arboretum: 24.8 mi
- Turtle Bay Bird Sanctuary: 24.9 mi
- Clover Creek Preserve: 24.9 mi
- Hillcrest Rest Area: 7.1 mi
- O'Brien Rest Area: 15.5 mi
- Lakehead Rest Area: 20.0 mi
- Lake Shasta Caverns: 14.6 mi
- Shasta Lake Ranger Station: 18.8 mi
- "Stand by Me" Bridge: 24.6 mi
- Metal Horse: 10.0 mi
- The Best Grindstone in the World: 20.1 mi
- Dad Lofton Spring: 21.2 mi
- Deer Springs: 24.8 mi
- Wintu Cultural Center: 20.6 mi
- Memorial Garden: 20.9 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 15.2 miles of Potem Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snow Mountain | ESE 113° | 2,076 m | 13.2 mi |
| Clover Mountain | ESE 118° | 2,066 m | 14.2 mi |
| Green Mountain | ESE 106° | 1,843 m | 14.7 mi |
| Stacher Butte | SE 124° | 1,759 m | 14.8 mi |
| Bunchgrass Mountain | ENE 60° | 1,664 m | 12.1 mi |
| Hatchet Mountain | ENE 66° | 1,662 m | 11.2 mi |
| Sugar Pine Mountain | SE 130° | 1,615 m | 14.0 mi |
| North Fork Mountain | NNW 341° | 1,609 m | 13.0 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:12 | 18:44 | 19:20 |
| June solstice | 05:37 | 20:02 | 20:44 |
| September equinox | 06:56 | 18:31 | 19:07 |
| December solstice | 07:30 | 16:00 | 16:44 |
Local time (America/Los_Angeles).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 34 | 36 | 41 | 46 | 55 | 61 | 69 | 66 | 60 | 49 | 39 | 33 |
| Precip in | 4.5 | 5.2 | 4.0 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 4.8 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Burney, 20 mi away.
Months at or above the year’s average flow: Jan–May — fullest in Mar, leanest in Aug.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean cfs | 5,471 | 6,358 | 6,863 | 6,087 | 4,873 | 3,561 | 2,850 | 2,674 | 2,699 | 2,956 | 3,441 | 4,279 |
USGS monthly mean discharge at gauge Pit R NR Montgomery Creek CA, 1 mi away — the nearest gauge, which can sit on a different stream.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/1046106063
Day trips start here
- Shasta County · 6 mi
- Lakehead · 19 mi
- Shasta Lake · 21 mi
- Palo Cedro · 23 mi
- Redding · 25 mi
- Shingletown · 25 mi
Take the scenic way to Potem Falls.
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