Wapama Falls
Wapama Falls is a waterfall in California, at a modelled elevation of 1,613 m. Tower Peak stands 3,582 m to the northeast, 17 miles off. The nearest named place is Tueeulala Falls, a waterfall 0.5 miles away. Tioga Road/Big Oak Flat Road passes 9.6 miles off.
The story
Wapama Falls is the larger of two waterfalls located on Falls Creek on the northern wall of Hetch Hetchy Valley below Hetch Hetchy Dome, in Yosemite National Park. The other waterfall, Tueeulala Falls, is on a separate seasonal distributary of Falls Creek. Wapama Falls flows year-round and during peak flow has been known to inundate the trail bridge crossing its base, making the falls impossible to pass. The falls consist of two primary drops angled roughly 60 degrees to each other, and a broad cascade at its base. Wapama Falls descends just under 1,100 feet. Like Yosemite Falls, it has three distinct parts. The topmost is a free drop of perhaps 300 feet, followed by a steeply-cascading stream which descends 600 feet in a steep-sided gorge, much like the stream between Upper and Lower Yosemite Fall. These cascades cannot be seen in their entirety from the trail or dam, due to topography; such a view is seen from across the valley high on Kolana Rock. Finally, the bottom drop, seen from the dam and intimately from the trail, is one of about 200 feet down an escarpment that is not vertical, but in high water the water shoots outward to clear this descent. Visitors can reach Wapama Falls by hiking 2.5 miles (4.0 km) up Hetch Hetchy Reservoir Trail from O'Shaughnessy Dam.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q38227, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Height
- 392 m
How to reach it
- 9.6 mi off the Tioga Road/Big Oak Flat Road, National
Overlooks nearby
- Viewpoint for Giant Sequoias · 14 mi
- View on Tenaya Lake · 19 mi
- Lembert Dome · 24 mi
- Disappearing Meadows · 27 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Hetch Hetchy Dome: 0.7 mi
- Kolana Rock: 1.1 mi
- Smith Peak: 3.3 mi
- LeConte Point: 3.5 mi
- Mount Gibson: 4.1 mi
- Tueeulala Falls: 0.5 mi
- Rancheria Falls: 3.2 mi
- Preston Falls: 8.5 mi
- Jawbone Falls: 11.6 mi
- Carlon Falls: 12.2 mi
- Shingle Spring: 7.2 mi
- Sachse Spring: 9.0 mi
- Box Spring: 13.5 mi
- Rackerby Jack Spring: 14.8 mi
- Pilot Peak Spring: 16.4 mi
- Fireplace Bluffs: 17.0 mi
- Castle Cliffs: 17.5 mi
- Rockslides: 17.8 mi
- East Flange Rock: 19.0 mi
- Glacier Point: 19.4 mi
- Nature Museum: 7.6 mi
- Interpretive Center: 7.6 mi
- Indian Village: 17.9 mi
- Yosemite Museum & Library: 18.0 mi
- Yosemite Exploration Center: 18.0 mi
- Carlon Day Use Area: 11.9 mi
- El Capitan Picnic Area: 18.4 mi
- Swinging Bridge Picnic Area: 18.4 mi
- Cathedral Beach Picnic Area: 18.6 mi
- Red Bud Picnic Area: 20.8 mi
- Tunnel Tree: 14.0 mi
- Merced Grove: 15.6 mi
- Indian Arch: 17.6 mi
- Valley View Yosemite (Sunset Spot): 18.2 mi
- Yosemite Valley Railroad Caboose Number 15: 20.3 mi
- World Heritage Site: 18.0 mi
- Foster Curry Cabin: 19.2 mi
- Women's Club Building: 19.2 mi
- Strawberry: 20.8 mi
- Miner’s Camp: 21.4 mi
- Benson Lake Beach: 13.6 mi
- Beach 2: 19.7 mi
- Beach 1: 19.8 mi
- Pinecrest Dog Beach: 19.9 mi
- Lake Lodge Beach: 24.5 mi
- El Portal Park: 20.3 mi
- Greeley Hill County Park: 23.7 mi
- Red Cloud: 24.9 mi
- Yosemite National Park: 15.0 mi
- Scoutmaster Grotto: 19.8 mi
- Dedication Garden: 21.5 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 17.0 miles of Wapama Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tower Peak | NE 44° | 3,582 m | 17.0 mi |
| Forsyth Peak | NE 37° | 3,408 m | 16.5 mi |
| Wells Peak | NE 50° | 3,389 m | 16.8 mi |
| Craig Peak | NE 45° | 3,379 m | 15.8 mi |
| Acker Peak | NE 55° | 3,356 m | 17.0 mi |
| Snow Peak | NE 46° | 3,336 m | 14.7 mi |
| Tuolumne Peak | ESE 113° | 3,309 m | 16.6 mi |
| Mount Hoffmann | ESE 121° | 3,308 m | 16.2 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:03 | 18:37 | 19:11 |
| June solstice | 05:38 | 19:46 | 20:26 |
| September equinox | 06:48 | 18:23 | 18:58 |
| December solstice | 07:12 | 16:02 | 16:44 |
Local time (America/Los_Angeles).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Apr–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 40 | 43 | 46 | 51 | 58 | 66 | 73 | 72 | 67 | 58 | 47 | 40 |
| Precip in | 6.3 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 3.5 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 5.9 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Hetch Hetchy, 1 mi away.
Months at or above the year’s average flow: May–Jul — fullest in Jun, leanest in Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean cfs | 122 | 107 | 129 | 291 | 1,303 | 1,726 | 755 | 148 | 79.4 | 53.3 | 60.5 | 73.9 |
USGS monthly mean discharge at gauge Tuolumne R NR Hetch Hetchy CA, 3 mi away — the nearest gauge, which can sit on a different stream.
Inside the official boundary of Yosemite National Park. Quietest months by visitation: Jan and Feb; busiest: Aug.
NPS visitation statistics, monthly averages 2021–2025 (2020 excluded).
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/2174315615
Day trips start here
- Sierra Nevada · 20 mi
- Yosemite National Park · 20 mi
Take the scenic way to Wapama Falls.
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