Monday, May 29, 2017

Walters Falls

Walters Falls is just one of about 7 waterfalls I got to earlier in May when we had a week of rain and rivers were running very high.  It was like spring melt all over again.

Located right in the village of Walters Falls, this falls is normally two separate streams of water falling nearly 50 feet over the cliff into a deep ravine along the escarpment.

The top of the falls has been modified to suit the old sawmill that used to stand here, giving two narrow channels for the water.  But with this much runoff the entire top of the falls was flowing with water, creating a semi-circular veil in the centre.

Below this the entire face of the waterfall was flowing with water, as it does every spring.

Here I was trying to 'stop' the water with an exposure of 1/2500th of a second.  Didn't quite do it.

Above the waterfalls is almost as interesting as below.  This is the only building left of the former sawmill, which burned down in 1984.  It was rebuilt nearby and is still operating, but no longer based on water power.  Never-the-less, just upstream of this mill pond is a still operating water powered grist mill, one of the few in Ontario.

Much of the year the water only flows over that spillway on the left, but with the high water, the entire dam was being overtopped by the water.  The big pipe formerly carried water to power the sawmill.

There's now a hotel beside the falls, and they've done a good job of providing a viewpoint over the falls, with a lot of wrought iron fence to provide access, above some of the foundation of the old mill.

But this year I see they've added a 'Do Not Climb' sign.  The Instagram generation likes to climb into the most dangerous positions possible, to get their adventurous photographs.  It's an increasing problem for publicly accessible waterfalls in Ontario, with no easy solution in sight.


16 comments:

  1. The good thing about all the rain is that the falls get to display them selfies at their best. Excellent photos Fury.

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  2. Beautiful waterfall and you captured it very nicely.

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  3. They are beautiful falls. I can see there is a lot of power behind that water. It might be noisy to sleep there at the hotel. Great photos.

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  4. wow it's so huge! I bet it makes a big roaring sound.

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  5. Love checking out waterfalls, and am enjoying your photos.

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  6. Beautiful shots of the falls, the bridal veil and I do believe you stopped the water! It wasn't moving in my view. :)

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  7. Cliff jumping is a thrill these days as well, FG. I don't understand it but I'm not young!

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  8. i have seen these millenniums, anything to make their picture more exciting. i don't know if a sign will do it!! the falls are extraordinary, i can almost feel the mist!!!

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  9. Wonderful falls. All rivers and falls are running high right now due to the rain and the snow and everything exciting---LOL.
    I scrolled through the posts I missed and really like them all. Lovely flat water and great light. I do like the Osprey (the mascot of our Seattle Seahawks) and the hiking---wonderful. Great places to hike. Whew i got worn out hiking along with you and your buddy.
    MB

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  10. Wow! We never see such spectacular falls as this in my neck of the woods.

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  11. This is a beautiful waterfall and the flow is amazing. I will admit that I'm often amazed at the chances some people will take to get an 'adventurous' photo. A hiker fell to his death yesterday from the top of a waterfall in the Smokies.

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  12. I like the shape of this waterfall, with the arcing "fan" in the middle.

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  13. The water has been so high. Beautiful shots.

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  14. I can almost hear the roar of the water!

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  15. Your water shots are always interesting

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