Two Giant Waterfalls

In the past five weeks, July 3 -4 were the only two days that it hasn't rained in this region.  I am enjoying the rain because it reminds me of Ireland, and it makes for spectacular waterfalls.  On July 2nd and 3rd, I took a wonderful trip to Thunder Bay, Ontario, and was able to view the biggest waterfalls in the region: Kakabeka Falls on the Kaministiquia River, and the High Falls on the Pigeon River.

According to the Ontario Parks web site, the Kakabeka Falls is the second largest waterfall in Ontario.  It is located near the city of Thunder Bay, and is easily accessible when you have entered Canada through the Pigeon River Station.  The park is open throughout the year.  Below are some of my pictures I took on July 3, 2017:

I took this picture from one of the many viewing platforms near the parking area.

This picture of the precipice was taken from the bridge above the falls.  It is definitely worth walking across the bridge, and seeing Kakabeka Falls from both sides.

It was a beautiful day to view Kakabeka Falls.  I took this picture from an overlook near the Visitor's Centre on the far side of the falls from the parking lot.

The above video is a quick look at Kakabeka Falls in action.  If you can't view the video here, I have also placed it on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/225516568.


On the way back across the border, I could see the spray coming from the High Falls on the Pigeon River as I crossed the bridge from Canada to the United States of America.  After conducting my business with the US Border Patrol, I drove into Minnesota, and took an almost immediate right into the Grand Portage State Park.  From the parking area, it is an easy, and relatively short hike in to see the High Falls.

According to the on-site interpretive signs, the falls is estimated to be 100 - 130 feet tall.  An average of 3,200 gallons of water per second flow over the precipice, although I suspect it was a much higher amount when I took these pictures.

Below are some of the many pictures I took on July 3, 2017:

The High Falls on the Pigeon River are on half in the United States, and half in Canada.

This picture is not out of focus.  I took it from the platform nearest to the falls on the American side.  There was an amazing amount of spray coming off of the High Falls that day.

I took this picture from as far back as I could get on the American side.

This picture shows how lush the vegetation is around the falls.  It looks more like a picture you might see of a rain forest than a waterfall on the border of the United States and Canada.

The above video is of the High Falls on the Pigeon River.  If you can't view it here, I posted the video on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/225517985.  I've also posted a longer video from that day at https://vimeo.com/225515912.

The Pigeon River, and Kaministiquia River were major routes for the fur trade from the 1600's to the 1800's.  The inland headquarters of the mighty Northwest Company was located at the Grand Portage from 1781 - 1802.  The reason the 8 1/2 mile Grand Portage was located there was to go around several waterfalls on the Pigeon River, including the High Falls.  Grand Portage's fort was located at the Lake Superior end of the portage, and Fort Charlotte was located on the inland side.

All of the trade goods and furs for the company went over the Grand Portage, until the Scottish owned Northwest Company had to move north of the border on the Pigeon River to the Kaministiquia River, where they build the larger Fort Kaministiquia, which was later renamed Fort William.  A few decades ago, the towns of Fort William and Port Arthur joined to become Thunder Bay, Ontario.