Helmcken Falls

Helmcken Falls in Wells Gray Provincial Park

Helmcken Falls is a 141 m (463 ft) waterfall on the Murtle River within Wells Gray Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada. The protection of Helmcken Falls was one of the reasons for the creation of Wells Gray Provincial Park in 1939.

Helmcken Falls is the fourth highest waterfall in Canada, measured by total straight drop without a break. Higher Canadian waterfalls are Hunlen Falls in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, Takakkaw Falls in Yoho National Park, and Della Falls in Strathcona Provincial Park, all in British Columbia.

Helmcken Falls was discovered in 1913 by Robert Lee, a land surveyor working for the British Columbia government. He was so impressed with the waterfall that he wrote a letter from his remote camp to Sir Richard McBride, Premier of British Columbia, requesting that the falls be named "McBride Falls". Three weeks later, Lee received a reply from the Premier stating that the waterfall was instead to be called Helmcken Falls. This name honoured John Sebastian Helmcken, a physician with the Hudson's Bay Company who arrived in Victoria in 1850. He helped bring British Columbia into Canadian Confederation in 1871. Dr. Helmcken died in 1920 at the age of 95, but never actually saw the falls himself.

Access and trails

A short paved side road from the main Wells Gray Park road leads to Helmcken Falls. A viewing platform on the rim of the canyon provides a panorama of the falls and canyon.

Bottom of Helmcken Falls

Brink Trail: A 4-km long trail starts near Dawson Falls and follows the south bank of the Murtle River to the brink of Helmcken Falls. This walk takes about an hour. There are no fences at the end of this trail so caution is important, especially with children and pets.

Helmcken Canyon: A 30-minute walk west from the main viewpoint follows the rim of Helmcken Canyon to an overlook of the meeting of the Murtle and Clearwater Rivers, about 250 m (820 ft) below.

Bottom of Helmcken Falls route: Continuing past the above overlook, the trail deteriorates into a strenuous scrambling route which descends into Helmcken Canyon, then follows the Murtle River to the bottom of the falls. This takes about four hours each way.

Gattling Gorge trail: Gattling Gorge is the narrowest point of the Clearwater River, about 20 m (66 ft) across. It is at the head of Helmcken Canyon, upstream from the confluence with the Murtle River. A trail from the main Helmcken Falls viewpoint accesses this gorge but signage is poor. It takes about an hour to walk.

Winter viewing

Most tourists see Helmcken Falls in summer. A winter visit is worthwhile because the ice cone at the base often grows to 50 m tall and sometimes even higher in very cold snowy winters. It has occasionally been seen reaching halfway up the falls. The best time to view the ice cone is from late January to the end of February. The cone collapses inward sometime during March and some remnants are still visible in June. The road is plowed and sanded in winter and volunteers maintain the trails. Snow tires are essential and tire chains are recommended as a safety precaution. A network of groomed and tracked cross-country ski trails starts near Dawson Falls.

Formation

Helmcken Falls owes its foundation to the deposits of volcanic rock in the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field that were placed down in the wide valley of the Murtle River. Layer upon layer of fresh lava created flat areas, over which enormous floods flowed at the close of the last ice age. These floods shaped the upright cliff in the lava flows over which the river now flows. The volcanic eruptions shaped the region and gave it its remarkable morphological features.

See also

• Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field
• List of waterfalls
• Volcanism in Canada

External links

• "Helmcken Falls". World Waterfall Database. Bryan Swan & Dean Goss. 1985 - 2008. http://www.worldwaterfalldatabase.com/waterfall.php?num=418. Retrieved 2008-11-07.