Awesomenesity
Location: Burney Falls, McArthur-Burney Falls State Park, Shasta County, CA
Created 05/19/18 05:07:42 pm
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Lens: EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
Aperture: f/7.1 ; .5 to 1/80 sec; ISO 100; HDR pano; 130 shots (43x3); stitched in Photoshop
The 129-foot-high Burney Falls, which is not the highest nor largest waterfall in the state, could be the most impressive. The year-round falls are fed by springs supplied with melting snow from Burney Mountain through the Pit River watershed; the water travels via underground streams before hitting nearby solid rock and flowing back to the surface. Daily, more than 100 million gallons of water plunge over the falls.
For over 7,000 years, the Pit River Indian Tribe considered the falls as a sacred site for pilgrimages and coming-of-age ceremonies. Regrettably, since the 1800s, the European invaders ruthlessly and tragically destroyed most of the Pit River natives (and virtually all California indigenous peoples) and their way of life. Sorry for the buzz kill.
The Falls's modern name grew from Scot Samuel Burney, the foremost settler who arrived here in the 1850s. After passing ownership in 1860 to John MacArthur, his descendants presented the land as a gift to the state in the 1920s. Teddy Roosevelt once described Burney Falls as the "eighth wonder of the world."
Swimming in the stream is prohibited due to the chilly year-round 42-degree temperature. Small engine-less watercraft are still allowed. Large Rainbow and Brown trout live in its cool waters, which are limited to seasonal fishing with fly, or bait-less, barb-less hooks. I can only imagine the couple here in the canoe drifting along in the lower pool; how they must have felt in awe. The thundering falls exuded so much energy that I was speechless; it was jaw-dropping.
