The Waterfall Ponds

[AlanLichty]

This is a view looking upstream on the Columbia River from over Hartman Pond at the foot of Wahkeena Creek. The freeway exit goes into the Benson Recreation Area I have been using to launch my drone for images of Wahkeena Falls as well as Multnomah Falls. The Union Pacific rail line visible to the right of the ponds is the edge of the USFS No-fly zone for the ever popular waterfalls. Benson Lake is the far side of the recreation area formed by the runoff of Multnomah Falls. Before the Bonneville Dam was built this area used to flood every spring right up to the railroad tracks and the ponds were simply part of the Columbia River wetlands.

C&C always welcome.

 

[JimFox]

Not sure why.... but from your title I thought you had built a waterfall and pond in your backyard....

I had to look for the waterfalls, which was cool that they are a bit hidden from this view.

 

[AlanLichty]

Not sure why.... but from your title I thought you had built a waterfall and pond in your backyard....

I had to look for the waterfalls, which was cool that they are a bit hidden from this view.

Thanks - my backyard is pretty close to being a pond right now from the March rains but no waterfalls The ponds below the falls were the focus of the scene and not the falls themselves. The small falls on the right are some unnamed intermittent falls right between Multnomah and Wahkeena Falls. Wahkeena Falls are 90º to the right of this view from over Hartman Pond.

 

[Jameel Hyder]

I know the area but never from this viewpoint. Nice perspective from the air.

 

[AlanLichty]

I know the area but never from this viewpoint. Nice perspective from the air.

Thanks - this is one of those views where unless you have flown there you have never seen it before. The Gorge can be a fun place to fly and looks quite different from the air when you are flying around in it. From the Benson Rec area I can fly out over the freeway to get over the water of the river and have a good view of Multnomah Falls that's perfect for the 70mm and 166mm cameras. The Benson rec area gets a lot of seasonal use but is empty around the time for fall colors. My truck was the only vehicle in the parking area the day I took this shot.