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Waterfall · Montana

Rainbow Falls

Rainbow Falls, a waterfall in Montana
Rainbow Falls, a waterfall in MontanaTony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK · CC BY 2.0

Rainbow Falls is a waterfall in Montana, at a modelled elevation of 980 m. Gossack Mountain stands 1,578 m to the east, 24 miles off. The nearest named place is Rainbow Dam, a attraction less than a tenth of a mile away. Kings Hill Scenic Byway passes 19 miles off. 20 named summits stand within 25 miles.

About

The story

Rainbow Falls (originally "Handsome Falls") is a waterfall on the Missouri River in Great Falls, Montana, just upstream from Crooked Falls and downstream from Colter Falls and Rainbow Dam. It is 47 feet (14m) high and 1,320 feet (402.3m) wide. The waterfall is part of the five Great Falls of the Missouri. The river spills over a sheer ledge of sandstone in the Kootenai Formation, forming the falls. The falls used to flow with a great deal of force year-round. In 1914 the river shortly upstream was dammed for hydroelectric power by the Rainbow Dam, which forms a run-of-the-river reservoir. As a result, the falls can almost totally dry up in the summer with only a few narrow strips of water trickling down its face. A railroad bridge crosses the river directly above the falls.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Wikidata Q7284624, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.

The record

What the record says

Height
14.3 m
Getting there

How to reach it

Driving directionsPlan a drive around it
Coordinates47.53441, -111.20380
Around it

Named places within 25 miles

Parks
  • Giant Springs State Park: 1.0 mi
  • Heron Park: 2.1 mi
  • Graybill Park: 2.4 mi
  • Pinski Park: 2.7 mi
  • Black Eagle Memorial Island: 2.7 mi
Peaks: 20
  • Indian Butte: 2.8 mi
  • Smelter Hill: 3.2 mi
  • Hill Fifty-seven: 6.2 mi
  • Gobbler Knob: 9.3 mi
  • Red Butte: 12.1 mi
Museums: 9
Attractions: 3
Waterfalls: 3
Springs: 3
  • Giant Springs: 1.2 mi
  • Sulphur Spring: 8.2 mi
  • Newman Spring: 13.5 mi
Artworks: 3
Historic sites: 2
Gardens: 1
  • West Side Orchard Garden: 6.8 mi
Nature reserves: 1
Ghost towns: 1
On the horizon

Summits around it

The highest named summits within 25 miles of Rainbow Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.

SummitBearingElevationDistance
Gossack MountainE 90°1,578 m23.7 mi
Harris MountainE 91°1,544 m21.9 mi
Belt ButteSE 125°1,415 m18.3 mi
Creamery HillS 172°1,341 m20.1 mi
Blankenbaker HillSSE 162°1,322 m19.6 mi
Mahoney HillSSE 160°1,308 m18.7 mi
Forest HillSSE 164°1,287 m18.1 mi
Red ButteS 185°1,271 m12.1 mi
Conditions

When to go

Light through the year

DateSunriseGolden hourSunset
March equinox07:2918:5719:38
June solstice05:2820:3821:27
September equinox07:1218:4419:24
December solstice08:1115:4416:37

Local time (America/Denver).

Climate normals

Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Sep.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg °F272937465463706959483628
Precip in0.60.60.61.82.72.71.31.31.41.10.70.6

1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Great Falls 16st, 5 mi away.

Streamflow

Months at or above the year’s average flow: Apr–Jul — fullest in Jun, leanest in Sep.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Mean cfs5,9426,1126,4187,21410,74013,0578,1775,7105,3735,4965,7845,776

USGS monthly mean discharge at gauge Missouri River near Great Falls MT, 8 mi away — the nearest gauge, which can sit on a different stream.

Sources

Where this comes from

Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.

OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidata

OpenStreetMap element node/4080829936

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