Vidae Falls

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, USA

About Vidae Falls

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Vidae Falls was definitely one of the easiest waterfalls to visit in Crater Lake National Park, mostly because it was right by the road.

Indeed, it was one of the few waterfalls in all our waterfalling experiences that we didn’t need to work for (other than the drive to get here; see directions below).

Vidae_Falls_012_07152016 - Vidae Falls as seen in the early morning of our mid-July 2016 visit
Vidae Falls as seen in the early morning of our mid-July 2016 visit

With such minimal physical effort to experience the Vidae Falls, we were tempted to scramble around the steep scree slope trying to look for different angles and ways to photograph and view the reportedly 115ft falls.

As we did this on our first two visits, we tried not to mind the mosquitos which were in abundance during our July 2016 visit (but not so much during our August 2009 visit).

When we came back in late June 2021, I noticed that there were more signs erected to steer people away from scrambling on the slopes perhaps to minimize the chances of someone getting hurt or causing additional erosion.

Vidae Falls featured a main cascading drop before reaching a rocky slope with less of an incline that eventually made its way down beneath the Rim Drive.

Vidae_Falls_021_08202009 - Focused on the main drop of Vidae Falls in the late afternoon of our first visit in late August 2009
Focused on the main drop of Vidae Falls in the late afternoon of our first visit in late August 2009

Its flow would continue to the south and southeast of the slopes of Mt Mazama, which was the mountain that blew its top and gave rise to the famed Crater Lake itself.

An Unusual Feature of Vidae Falls

One thing that was unusual about Vidae Falls (but maybe not so unusual amongst waterfalls in the boundaries of Crater Lake National like Duwee Falls and Plaikni Falls) was that its flow seemed to have come from Crater Lake itself.

While that’s not so unusual in and of itself, the waterfall’s presence so close to the top of the mountain was definitely rare as typically creeks and streams need enough of a drainage to accumulate enough water to make the stream more permanent.

I suspect that Vidae Creek resulted from the seepage of the lake’s waters through possible channels within the caldera itself before the waters re-emerge back on the surface further downslope.

Vidae_Falls_001_08202009 - Context of Vidae Falls and the rim of Mt Mazama with lots of scree slopes towards its bottom
Context of Vidae Falls and the rim of Mt Mazama with lots of scree slopes towards its bottom

Certainly in our experience, waterfalls without much of a drainage or watershed don’t tend to last long.

However, since our first visit here was in late August 2009 when you’d think the falls would either go dry or not flow well, it still had pretty good flow while all the snow had been long gone.

Therefore, in order to explain this observation, the seepage theory was the only plausible explanation that I could think of.

Moreover, a video simulating the formation of Crater Lake near the visitor center at Rim Village supported our seepage theory.

Crater_Lake_234_07152016 - Vidae Falls was likely fed by the waters seeping out of Crater Lake through unseen channels in the caldera of Mt Mazama itself
Vidae Falls was likely fed by the waters seeping out of Crater Lake through unseen channels in the caldera of Mt Mazama itself

In that video, they simulated one of the mechanisms (the other being evaporation) by which the lake level balanced itself out against the accumulation from snow and rain.

Thus, we suspect this falls would probably flow year-round though it would certainly be dependent on the water level of the lake.

Authorities

Vidae Falls resides in Crater Lake National Park near Medford in Klamath County, Oregon. It is administered by the National Park Service. For information or inquiries about the park as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: crater lake, national park, seepage, klamath, oregon, waterfall, medford



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
Read More About Johnny | A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls.