Waterfalls and dams in California

This collection highlights California’s diverse water features, ranging from the world-renowned 2,425-foot Yosemite Falls to historic engineering projects like the 18th-century Old Mission Dam. It includes rare tidefalls like McWay Falls, which drops directly onto the Big Sur coast, and the multi-tiered cascades of the McCloud River. Significant infrastructure is also featured, such as the O’Shaughnessy Dam, which creates the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, and various Sierra Nevada structures essential to the state's hydroelectric history.

California Waterfalls and Dams — Map

Brian Lopez / Public domain

A

McWay Falls

McWay Falls is an 80-foot-tall waterfall on the coast of Big Sur in central California that flows year-round from McWay Creek in Julia…

Brocken Inaglory / CC BY-SA 3.0

B

Middle Cascades

Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in Yosemite National Park, dropping a total of 2,425 feet from the top of the upper fall to the…

Diliff / CC BY-SA 3.0

C

Nevada Fall

Nevada Fall is a 594-foot high waterfall on the Merced River in Yosemite National Park, California.

Carleton Watkins / Public domain

D

Lower Yosemite Fall

Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in Yosemite National Park, dropping a total of 2,425 feet from the top of the upper fall to the…

E

Sentinel Fall

Sentinel Falls is a long series of cascades descending into Yosemite Valley, in the U.S. state of California, alongside Sentinel Rock.

Matthes / Public domain

F

Royal Arch Cascade

Royal Arch Cascade is a waterfall located on the north wall of Yosemite Valley and the Yosemite National Park, United States, within…

G

Bishop Creek Dam

A concrete gravity dam located at South Lake in the Eastern Sierra, used for hydroelectric power generation within the Bishop Creek system.

Philkon (Phil Konstantin) / CC BY-SA 3.0

H

Old Mission Dam

The Old Mission Dam is a historic water impoundment structure in Mission Trails Regional Park in San Diego, California.

Steve Ryan / CC BY-SA 2.0

I

O'Shaughnessy Dam

O'Shaughnessy Dam is a 430-foot high concrete arch-gravity dam in Tuolumne County, California, United States.

Jo Jo / CC-BY-SA

J

Lower Falls

The first of three waterfalls on the McCloud River, featuring a 15-foot drop into a large pool surrounded by volcanic rock.

Jo Jo / CC-BY-SA

K

Middle Falls

The widest of the McCloud River falls, this 50-foot-high cascade flows over a broad basalt cliff.

L

Camanche Dam

Camanche Dam is an earthfill Dam on the Mokelumne River in the central California, about 20 mi from East Lodi.

M

Horsetail Falls

A seasonal waterfall in the Klamath National Forest near the Oregon border, accessible via the Clear Creek trail.

N

Pine Falls

A remote waterfall in the Ventana Wilderness of Big Sur, located along the Pine Ridge Trail on the Big Sur River.

Jo Jo / CC-BY-SA

O

Upper Falls

A 25-foot waterfall where the McCloud River carves through a narrow canyon of volcanic rock.

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