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LeConte Falls

LeConte Falls with several waterwheels



LeConte Falls starts off as mostly a long series of featureless cascades until its main drop. In its main drop, the Tuolumne River slides down a fifty-degree slope with potholes backed by rocks. The result is water thrown up as it tumbles towards the bottom resulting in the illusion of waterwheels.

Given the presence of its waterwheels, many people mistake this waterfall for Waterwheel Falls. How do I know this? Well after my Memorial Day backpacking trip in 2004, I got home and downloaded my GPS waypoints onto the digital topo map. You could imagine my disappointment when I found out that we were short of the real Waterwheel Falls by less than a mile (about 2.5 miles or so from Glen Aulin High Sierra Camp)! So, I did what any waterfall nut would do and went back the following week... (click here to read more about my Waterwheel Falls escapades).

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Profile view of LeConte FallsProfile view of the main cascade as the trail continues to descend deeper into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River

Looking up towards the top of LeConte Falls' main cascadeLooking up towards the top of the main tier of the waterfall

More direct view of LeConte Falls showing its widthMore direct view of the falls showing its width



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