The geology around Bend, Oregon, has been dominated by extensive volcanism over the last few million years. Repeated glacial advances and retreats have also extensively modified the terrain, and the interplay of these processes has led to spectacular scenery.
Tumalo (pronounced "TUM-uh-loh") Falls is an outstanding example. Located in a heavily forested area, this waterfall flows over an overhanging lip, made by a resistant lava flow, to drop freely almost 100 feet into a glacier-carved canyon. Scars from a major fire in the vicinity in 1979, the Bridge Creek Fire, linger but are now much less obvious due to decades of regrowth.
Several other waterfalls occur upstream on Tumalo Creek, and are worth the extra effort—not least because the crowds drop off above Tumalo Falls itself. The first upper fall is about a mile farther up the trail, and the second is about a quarter mile beyond that.
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