The Yellowstone River drops 109 feet over the Upper Falls into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and continues 20 miles through the canyon to the Tower Fall. The volume of water flowing over the falls can vary from 63,500 gallons per second at peak runoff to 5,000 gallons per second in the fall. The canyon is 800 to 1,200 feet deep and 1,500 to 4,000 feet wide. The Yellowstone River begins at Yount Peak south of the park and flows 600 miles where it ends in North Dakota and empties into the Missouri River. Jim Bridges, a famous Mountain man, visited the Upper Falls in 1846 and the word spread regarding the falls. The falls were first named Upper Falls by members of the Folsom Party that explored this area. |
