Yellowstone Up Close & Personal Logo © Page Makers, LLC
Yellowstone Grizzly © Page Makers, LLC


Tower Fall
Yellowstone National Park

Raven - Yellowstone National Park - by John William Uhler © Page Makers, LLC


Tower Fall - Yellowstone National Park - by John William Uhler © Page Makers, LLC Tower Fall - Yellowstone National Park - by John William Uhler © Page Makers, LLC
Tower Fall - Yellowstone National Park - by John William Uhler © Page Makers, LLC Tower Fall - Yellowstone National Park - by John William Uhler © Page Makers, LLC


Tower Fall Video ~ Yellowstone National Park



Tower Fall is located in the north central area of Yellowstone, about two (2) miles east of the Tower / Roosevelt Junction on the main loop road.


Tower Fall is named, not for its towering height, but for the "towers" of stone that surround the top of the falls. One story relates that the Washburn expedition of 1870 voted on the name. One suggestion was “Minaret” while the other was “Tower.” Minaret won by a slight majority. The next day the proponent of “Tower” accused the originator of “Minaret” of naming the falls for his fiancee, Miss Minnie Rhett. The group switched its decision to “Tower.” Both suggested names were for the pinnacles at the falls. ¹


Tower Creek flows under and beside the Grand Loop Road to plunge 132 feet in a straight fall over Eocene conglomerate, a volcanic gravel which is easily eroded. The “towers” were formed by larger boulders which shielded the underlying conglomerate from erosion. Older photographs of Tower Fall reveal a large boulder precariously perched at the brink of the falls. Members of the Hayden expedition in 1871 placed bets as to the hour the stone would be pushed over the edge. The boulder fell unobserved in June 1986, an example of gelogic change which occurs on a non-human timetable. ¹


Immediately about the head of the falls the rocks were worn into curious and fantastic shapes, looking, in daylight, like spires or steeples, rising from thirty to sixty feet above the falls; but, in the moonlight, reminding one of the portal of an old castle, or a number of the fabled genni standing ready to hurl adventurous mortals into the gorge below, which was envelped by the shadows of the night in impenetrable darkness.” -- Walter Trumbull, 1870 ²


Tower Fall Information
Location 44° 53' 37.87" N / 110° 23' 13.75" W
Elevation 6,340 feet / 1,932 meters
Fall Type Plunge
Height 132 feet / 40 meters
Stream Tower Creek
Access Two (2) miles east of the Tower / Roosevelt Junction on the main loop road

¹ This information is from the book "Waterfalls of Yellowstone National Park" by Charles Maynard.

² This information is from "Yellowstone Waterfalls and their Discovery" by Paul Rubinstein, Lee H. Whittlesey, and Mike Stevens.


Tower Fall by John William Uhler © Copyright All Rights Reserved

Yellowstone National Park
Tower Falls Location Map - Yellowstone National Park Mammoth to Tower Area Map



Yellowstone National Park Videos

Wildlife Videos


Yellowstone Wildlife Videos


Yellowstone Wildlife Videos
Bighorn Rams Grizzly Bear at Blacktail Ponds
Bison / Buffalo Crossing the Madison River Grizzly Bear at Old Faithful
Bison / Buffalo at Old Faithful Grizzly Bear near Roaring Mountain
Bison / Buffalo Herd with Calves Grizzly Sow Nursing Cubs
Black Bear Otters at Trout Lake
Black Wolf Otter at Yellowstone Lake
Deer Raven
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel Sandhill Cranes Calling

Geysers and Thermals


Yellowstone Geysers and Thermal Videos


Yellowstone Geyser and Thermal Videos
Beehive Geyser Eruption Old Faithful with Bison
Beehive Geyser Eruption Two Pocket Basin
Fan and Mortar Roaring Mountain
Grand Geyser Rocket and Grotto
Old Faithful One West Thumb

Waterfalls

Yellowstone Waterfall Videos


Yellowstone Waterfall Videos
Cave Falls Mesa Falls Undine Falls
Gibbon Falls Rustic Falls Upper Falls
Lower Falls Tower Fall Wraith Falls



Yellowstone National Park by Page Makers, LLC © Copyright All Rights Reserved
I n d e x
Accessibility Earthquakes Maps Trip Reports
Address Email Newspaper Video Page
Adult Programs Entrances Night of the Bear Visitor Centers
Amphibians Entrance Fees Old Faithful Live WebCam Visitor Stats
Animals Facts & Figures Pets Volcano Observatory
Backcountry Fall Closure Phone Numbers Waterfalls
Bear Management Fish Picnic Areas Weather
Bear Sightings Fishing Fees Pikas WebCams
Biking Fishing Regulations Ranger Led Activities Wildflowers
Birds Getting Here Reptiles Winter Closing
Boating Hiking Reunions Winter Opening
Books History Rivers, Creeks & Streams Winter Weather Reports
Butterflies Junior Ranger Program Roads Wolf Project
Camping Lakes Schedule Wolf Sightings
Campground Maps Location Search Page Wolverine Help
Challenges Lodging Spring Opening Yellowstone ~ the Name
Chat Page  or  Facebook Group Lynx Help Star Talks Young Scientist
Clinics / Medical Mammal List Trip Planner pdf Youth Conservation Corps

Yellowstone National Park WebCams
Old Faithful Live All Old Faithful Old Faithful Static Old Faithful VC North Entrance Mt Washburn Mammoth YVO WebCam

Entrance Cities and Gateway Towns
Gardiner, Montana Silver Gate, Montana West Yellowstone, Montana Cooke City, Montana
Livingston, Montana Cody, Wyoming Jackson Hole, Wyoming Yellowstone National Park

Not all who wander are lost by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien © Page Makers, LLC

Contact UsHome