The Columbia Gorge stretches from rainforest to desert and from sea level to mountains, creating a wide range of habitats for plants and animals, and the Wahkeena Creek watershed is one example of this unique gorge ecosystem. Wahkeena Falls, a 242-foot falls once known as Gordon Falls after pioneer land-owner F.E. Gordon, received its present name in 1915 when a Mazamas committee renamed the creek and falls Wahkeena, a Yakima Indian word meaning “most beautiful.” The area includes cliffs and talus formed by frost and ice breaking exposed bedrock so that rocks fall into sloping debris piles, creating ledges, caves, and spaces that shelter plants and animals. Among the species found here are pika, Dunn’s salamander, rufous-sided towhee, and broad-leaf stonecrop, while Wahkeena Creek’s isolation from adjacent watersheds has produced a unique habitat for eight species of aquatic insects found only in the Columbia River Gorge, including the Wahkeena flightless stonefly and Anderson’s caddisfly, with no other Pacific Northwest watershed yet known to have so many endemic species. Lumberman and philanthropist Simon Benson donated the property including today’s Benson State Park to the City of Portland, which later conveyed it to the State of Oregon and the Forest Service. Wahkeena Trail climbs to 900 feet for views of the Columbia River, follows the creek near its source through rocks, deer fern, moss-hung vine maple, sword fern, and 200-foot Douglas firs, ends at Larch Mountain Trail in 2.8 miles, and connects with several other trails.

Photo: Phyllis Prats

Photo: Phyllis Prats

Orient, Oregon · USA