Rainbow Falls
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Rainbow Falls is a waterfall in California, at a modelled elevation of 2,239 m. Mount Ritter stands 4,007 m to the northwest, 8.7 miles off. The nearest named place is Lower Rainbow Falls, a waterfall 0.5 miles away. Tioga Road/Big Oak Flat Road passes 22 miles off.
The story
Rainbow Falls is the highest waterfall on the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River, in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains of California, in the United States. Plunging 101 feet (31 m) to the turbulent water below, the falls are named for the rainbows that appear in their mist on sunny summer days. Rainbow Falls is located within the boundaries of Devils Postpile National Monument. About 75,000 years ago, lava erupted from a vent just east of the present-day falls. The eruption occurred in two stages. The first pulse of lava flowed about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) westward and pooled in the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin drainage. The second pulse of lava insulated the first, allowing it to cool slowly and to fracture vertically. The layer above cooled under different conditions and fractured horizontally. Geologists describe these rocks as platy rhyodacite; they are visible in the cliffs that surround Rainbow Falls. As water rushes over the cliff, it erodes the vertically fractured rhyodacite more easily. A small cavern begins to form at the base of the falls, and the overlying rock loses its support and collapses. This process, known as undercutting, causes the waterfall to recede slowly upstream. To date Rainbow Falls has retreated about 500 feet (150 m) due to undercutting.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q37891, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
How to reach it
- 21.9 mi off the Tioga Road/Big Oak Flat Road, National
Overlooks nearby
- Disappearing Meadows · 22 mi
- Tioga Lake Overlook Info Site · 24 mi
- Lembert Dome · 24 mi
- View on Tenaya Lake · 26 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Red Cones: 1.7 mi
- Granite Stairway: 2.4 mi
- Lion Point: 3.4 mi
- Mammoth Mountain: 3.4 mi
- Pumice Butte: 3.7 mi
- Reds Meadow Hot Springs: 1.3 mi
- Iva Bell Hot Springs: 5.8 mi
- Iva Bell Hot Springs: 5.9 mi
- Iva Bell Hot Springs: 6.0 mi
- Hartley Springs: 11.7 mi
- Mill City Mine: 5.0 mi
- Julia E. Townsend Memorial: 5.2 mi
- Mahan Cabin: 5.2 mi
- Assay Office: 5.2 mi
- Bunkhouses: 5.3 mi
- Lower Rainbow Falls: 0.5 mi
- Minarets Falls: 2.6 mi
- Twin Falls: 4.1 mi
- Horsetail Falls: 11.3 mi
- Granite Creek Falls: 12.0 mi
- free natural hot pool: 1.3 mi
- Iva Bell Hot Springs: 5.8 mi
- Iva Bell Hot Springs: 5.8 mi
- Iva Bell Hot Springs: 5.9 mi
- Hot Spring: 11.9 mi
- Valentine Reserve Ecological Study Area: 5.2 mi
- Community Center Park: 6.5 mi
- Mammoth Creek Park West: 6.8 mi
- Trails End Park: 7.8 mi
- Gull Lake Park: 12.2 mi
- The Buttresses: 0.7 mi
- Junction Bluffs: 5.2 mi
- Sevehah Cliff: 11.3 mi
- Vermilion Cliffs: 14.8 mi
- The Wave: 15.9 mi
- Devils Postpile: 1.6 mi
- Perched Boulder: 12.5 mi
- Mono Hot Springs Resort: 19.3 mi
- Crowley Lake Stone Columns: 19.9 mi
- Navy Beach: 23.7 mi
- Minaret Vista Picnic: 4.0 mi
- Gull Lake Picnic Area: 11.9 mi
- Aerie Crag Picnic Area: 14.0 mi
- Mono Creek Picnic Site: 17.5 mi
- Mile High Vista Picnic Area: 24.5 mi
- Mammoth Museum: 7.0 mi
- Mono Basin Historical Society: 24.8 mi
- June Lake Beach: 13.4 mi
- Navy Beach: 23.7 mi
- Crestview Rest Area: 10.9 mi
- Arch Rock: 15.2 mi
- Mono Mills: 20.9 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 10.7 miles of Rainbow Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Ritter | NW 314° | 4,007 m | 8.7 mi |
| Banner Peak | NW 317° | 3,940 m | 8.9 mi |
| Bloody Mountain | ESE 106° | 3,825 m | 10.1 mi |
| Clyde Minaret | NW 309° | 3,738 m | 6.4 mi |
| Michael Minaret | NW 308° | 3,736 m | 6.6 mi |
| Ken Minaret | NW 308° | 3,730 m | 6.2 mi |
| Eichorn Minaret | NW 308° | 3,730 m | 6.6 mi |
| Rice Minaret | NW 309° | 3,730 m | 6.7 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:01 | 18:34 | 19:09 |
| June solstice | 05:36 | 19:43 | 20:22 |
| September equinox | 06:45 | 18:20 | 18:55 |
| December solstice | 07:08 | 16:01 | 16:42 |
Local time (America/Los_Angeles).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Jun–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 29 | 29 | 34 | 39 | 47 | 56 | 63 | 62 | 56 | 46 | 36 | 29 |
| Precip in | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 4.1 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Mammoth Lakes RS, 7 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 | 46.0 | 41.7 | 63.4 | 171 | 377 | 413 | 206 | 60.0 | 24.0 | 30.5 | 25.2 | 26.9 |
USGS monthly mean discharge at gauge MF San Joaquin R NR Mammoth Lakes CA, 2 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/370757336
Day trips start here
- Yosemite National Park · 27 mi
- Sierra Nevada · 28 mi
- Mono Lake · 29 mi
Take the scenic way to Rainbow Falls.
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