WThe following is a list of Yosemite waterfalls, including ephemeral falls:
WBridalveil Fall is one of the most prominent waterfalls in the Yosemite Valley in California. The waterfall is 188 metres (617 ft) in height and flows year round.
WChilnualna Falls is a series of waterfalls totaling 690 feet, located on Chilnualna Creek in the southern section of Yosemite National Park.
WHorsetail Fall, located in Yosemite National Park in California, is a seasonal waterfall that flows in the winter and early spring. The fall occurs on the east side of El Capitan. If Horsetail Fall is flowing in February and the weather conditions are just right, the setting sun illuminates the waterfall, making it glow orange and red. This natural phenomenon is often referred to as the "Firefall", a name that pays homage to Yosemite Firefall, the manmade event that once took place in Yosemite.
WIllilouette Falls is a 381-foot (116 m) waterfall on the Illilouette Creek tributary of the Merced River in Yosemite National Park. It is located in a small canyon that cuts into the south wall of Yosemite Valley directly across from Vernal Fall. The origin and meaning of the waterfall's name has been lost to time.
WLehamite Falls is located in Yosemite National Park. It consists of a long series of steep cascades that fall 1,180 feet (360 m) into Yosemite Valley, in a manner similar to Sentinel Fall. The falls are located in a small cleft in the north wall of the valley known as Indian Canyon, immediately to the right of Yosemite Falls and seen above Yosemite Village. "Lehamite" is a native word for "arrowwood".
WNevada Fall is a 594-foot (181 m) high waterfall on the Merced River in Yosemite National Park, California. It is located below the granite dome, Liberty Cap, at the west end of Little Yosemite Valley. The waterfall is widely recognized by its "bent" shape, in which the water free-falls for roughly the first third of its length to a steep slick-rock slope. This mid-fall impact of the water on the cliff face creates a turbulent, whitewater appearance in the fall and produces a great deal of mist which covers a wide radius, which led to its current name.
WQuaking Aspen Falls is a 25-foot, multi-stranded waterfall off Tioga Pass Road in Yosemite National Park. Although the falls typically dry up by August, the stream flows year-round both above and below the falls.
WRibbon Fall, located in Yosemite National Park in California, flows off a cliff on the west side of El Capitan and is the longest single-drop waterfall in North America. The fall is fed by melting winter snow; while therefore dry for much of the year, the fall is a spectacular 1,612 feet in the spring. In exceptional years, an ice cone develops at its base during the winter months similar to that which usually forms beneath Upper Yosemite Fall. This deposit can reach a depth of 200 feet, versus 322 feet for the greatest depth of the ice cone beneath the Upper Fall and Lower Fall. It is the tallest, continuous waterfall in the United States.
WRoyal Arch Cascade is a waterfall located on the north wall of Yosemite Valley and the Yosemite National Park, United States, within walking distance from the Ahwahnee Hotel. The falls are 1,250 feet (380 m) high and are usually dry by June. The waterfall gets its name from its location immediately adjacent to the Royal Arches, which are a series of concentric semicircular setbacks in the cliff face directly opposite Glacier Point.
WSilver Strand Falls drops 574 feet (175m) along Meadow Brook, at the western end of Yosemite Valley, within Yosemite National Park. The falls are commonly thought to drop 1170 feet (356m); this is incorrect. The name Widow's Tears had been applied to Silver Strand Falls in the past, but the lower-volume waterfall located one drainage to the east of Meadow Brook is now known as Widow's Tears and is thought to drop 1,170 feet (360 m), hence the confusion regarding the height.
WSnow Creek Falls is a long series of cascades located in Yosemite National Park toward the eastern extent of Yosemite Valley. It descends a steep gorge on a sizeable stream that originates in May Lake to the north, dropping east of the trail that leaves the Valley above Mirror Lake en route to North Dome and other north-rim destinations. Snow Creek Falls is the second highest waterfall in Yosemite National Park.
WStaircase Falls is a series of waterfalls located on Gossamer Creek in Yosemite National Park, California. The falls descend a total of 1,300 feet (400 m) into Yosemite Valley over a series of steps. Staircase Falls is relatively ephemeral and is usually dry by the end of June. The falls are located immediately behind Camp Curry on cliffs below Glacier Point.
WThree Chute Falls is a waterfall on Tenaya Creek in Yosemite National Park, in the U.S. state of California.
WTueeulala Falls is located on the north side of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. At roughly 880 feet it is the smaller of two large waterfalls that spill into Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, the other being Wapama Falls. It is, however, the larger of the two in terms of greatest free-fall distance, as Wapama is split into two falls. Tueeulala Fall drops free for 600 feet, hits a ledge, then slides steeply down 280 feet further. The hike to the top of the falls is off trail but fairly brush free and straightforward.
WVernal Fall is a 317-foot (96.6 m) waterfall on the Merced River just downstream of Nevada Fall in Yosemite National Park, California. Like its upstream neighbor, Vernal Fall is clearly visible at a distance, from Glacier Point, as well as close up, along the Mist Trail. The waterfall flows all year long, although by the end of summer it is substantially reduced in volume and can split into multiple strands, rather than a single curtain of water.
WWapama Falls is the larger of two waterfalls located on the northern wall of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. It flows almost 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 is fed by Lake Vernon, a few miles to the north, and is below Hetch Hetchy Dome.
WWaterwheel Falls is a waterfall in the Sierra Nevada of California, located in Yosemite National Park. It is the largest of the many waterfalls of the Tuolumne River. Its upper part contains a series of small ledges, each of which creates a small plume as the water is deflected away from the rock face. A regular phenomenon appears at the first and largest of these ledges during the high-water season of early summer. Strong gusts of wind can lift part of the spray and blow it back upward, causing it to reenter the falls above the ledge. This cyclic "waterwheel" gives the falls their name.
WYosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in Yosemite National Park, dropping a total of 2,425 feet (739 m) from the top of the upper fall to the base of the lower fall. Located in the Sierra Nevada of California, it is a major attraction in the park, especially in late spring when the water flow is at its peak.