High forces

Dramatic waterfalls of the East Coast

BY DARCY RHYNO

Athin stream shoots over a rock ledge high over the narrow end of Western Brook Pond. Launching from the plateau 343 metres above, the drop is so long, half the water sifts into a billion droplets, then into a mist that drifts away with the wind. The other half slaps against a wedge of mountain, then tumbles down a 45-degree slope to the lake. It’s no wonder some creative observer of this most unusual phenomenon came up with the colourful name Pissing Mare Falls.

Although Western Brook Pond is a fresh-water lake today, millennia ago it was a fjord connected to the sea. The best, and perhaps the only, way to see the falls in Western Newfoundland’s Gros Morne National Park is to follow the boardwalk from the parking lot across a bog to the water’s edge. There, catch the tour boat across the lake to where the land shoots upwards in steep cliffs that level off to towering tabletop mountains. The streams that spill over their edges lend to the feeling of a time long past, as if a Viking ship might appear, plying the waters through the mist.

This is just one of a hundred or so waterfalls on Canada’s East Coast. From the thundering, high force in the centre of town in Grand Falls, N.B. to the long tumbles hidden deep in Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Highlands, you’ll find waterfalls in many locations. Some are so massive, they are the sites of major hydroelectric stations. Others are higher than Niagara Falls.

Fast flowing streams fling themselves from mountaintops in Newfoundland and pour over sudden drops in the vast landscape of Labrador. Some form when rivers slip over smooth stones into deep pools. Others bounce down bedrock ledges, slicing into half a dozen ribbons before tumbling away in white water rapids. Still others drop straight into the ocean.

Guidebooks and phone apps help in the quest to find the best. A challenge such as the Cape Breton Waterfall Season contest comes with its own rewards. In late spring when water levels are highest, those in search of falls at their most active can download the app and scan the QR code at a dozen sites around the island to qualify for a prize.

My favourite among the dozen on the app is Mary Ann Falls inside Cape Breton Highlands National Park. In summer, when campers and explorers are looking for relief from the heat, park visitors drive or cycle the six-kilometre gravel road from the Broad Cove Campground to swim in the refreshing pool beneath the falls. The bravest leap from the rocks into the river below where the water is deepest. Families with children wade into the shallows and perch on rocks to soak their feet and sip cool drinks.

Baker’s Brook Falls, Gros Morne National Park, N.L.

Photo: Darcy Rhyno

Dickson Falls ravine, Fundy National Park, N.B.

Photo: Darcy Rhyno

In another national park, another favourite hides in one of the region’s moodiest settings. Deep within the forests of New Brunswick’s Fundy National Park, Dickson Falls splashes off the rocks of a mossy ravine, sending out clouds of mist that drenches every tree, rock and plant, constantly watering the mosses that keep everything covered in a lush, verdant green. Stairs lead through the thick woods down into the green ravine, crisscrossing the stream as it tumbles over shorter drops in the landscape. The boardwalk ends at a lookout with a close-up view of the falls. Standing here with the mist on your face is a highlight of a visit to Fundy National Park. Perhaps New Brunswick’s most picturesque high force is Falls Brook Falls, just off the upper reaches of the mighty Miramichi River near Boistown in the centre of the province. Through a narrow opening, the brook drops 33 metres down the rockface, bumping off a series of little ledges, rippling the veil that drops into the deep pool it has carved from the bedrock. It’s a fantastic place for a swim and for an awe-inspiring view up one of the highest falls in the province.

On the way back to the dock at Western Brook Pond, the tour boat captain pulls in close to a second waterfall. This one drops from a shorter height, but it’s even more photogenic. The stream follows a deep canyon of nearly vertical walls. Where it reaches the precipice, a boulder jammed at its mouth divides the stream in two. One rivulet drops straight down the rockface. The other, heavier flow works itself around the boulder, bouncing off a couple of ledges. The two rejoin as one veil, splashing into the lake, perhaps 20 metres below.

Waterfalls of the East Coast are as variable as the seasons, from raging runoffs in the spring to gentle trickles in the dry summer season. Autumn revives the water levels once again and frames some falls in colourful clouds of leaves. In winter, some are draped in sheets of ice and the trees around them shimmer in frozen mist.

Whatever the season, waterfalls are always a clash of elements. Gros Morne’s ancient tabletop mountains are cleft by the relentless flow of water that shapes and animates the landscape. It’s a scene repeated in endless variety across Canada’s East Coast.

Baxters Harbour Falls, N.S.

Photo: Darcy Rhyno

Photo: Darcy Rhyno

Waterfalls Across The Region

To download the app for the Cape Breton Water Fall Season, go to cbisland.com/vacation-ideas/ waterfall-season

To buy guides to waterfalls of New Brunswick and of Nova Scotia, head to a local bookseller: gooselane.com/ products/waterfalls-of-nova-scotia gooselane.com/products/waterfallsof-new-brunswick-a-guide-2ndedition