The beautiful Tuolumne River can be found in the state of California, in the United States. Where it rises in the central Sierra Nevada in Yosemite National Park. The lovely flowing westward through the foothills to its confluence with the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley, near Modesto. The section of the river begins immediately below Tuolumne Meadows and finishes just shy of Hetch Hetchy Valley. That is famous as the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne.
Therefore, the riverbed forms a spectacular staircase through much of thirty-three miles, followed by a series of striking Waterwheel Falls. Maybe the greatest of these is the 800-foot Waterwheel Falls, the largest waterfalls on the Tuolumne River. In the Waterwheel Falls, the river dashes down a slanted surface and comes into a series of small ledges initiating the water to deflect away from the rock surface in great arches, similar to waterwheels.Â
Moreover, during the high-water season (in early summer), columns or waterwheels, of water can rise 15 to 20 feet high. Hence, strong gusts of wind can lift part of the spray and blow it back upward. It is causing it to reenter the falls above the ledge. This cyclic “waterwheel” gives the falls their name.
In the Waterwheel Falls, the river dashes down a slanted surface and comes into a series of small ledges initiating the water to deflect away from the rock surface in great arches, similar to waterwheels.Â
