Takakkaw Falls - "it is magnificent!"

You hear it long before you see it. 

Elaine said, "turn here!" so I did. Off the main road, we drove up a nice little road headed for who knew what. I guess she knew because after a couple of minutes she said, "wait for it...wait for it." I started to hear it too. Around a bend and there it was: Takakkaw Falls.

Or rather the top of Takakkaw Falls, because we could only see a little over half of the falls.

We parked the car on the side of the road with a bunch of other cars (not realizing there was a car park about 50 meters further on - around the next curve) and started walking. The closer we got the louder and bigger the falls got.

"Takakkaw" means "it is magnificent" in the Cree First Nations language. And it truly is. At 254 meters (838 feet) it is one of the tallest waterfalls in Canada. The falls are fed by the Daly Glacier some 350 meters (1155 feet) back behind the brink. The glacier in turn is fed by the  Waputik Icefield beyond. When we were there the falls was a mere shadow of its summer self when melting snow from the glaciers sends a pounding roaring torrent over the edge. It a couple of months, as winter sets in, the falls will became a slim ribbon of ice waiting for spring.

There are more no-way-I-can-do-this-justice-but-I'll-try photos of Takakkaw Falls on Flickr.