Ancient flows of columnar basalt provide a unique setting for this photograph of Toketee Falls along the upper Umpqua River in Oregon. The river enters a narrow gorge above the falls and plummets over a series of small drops before making this final 85-foot plunge into a huge blue pool at its base. The indigenous Chinook people in this region used the word Toketee, meaning "graceful", when referring to this waterfall. Today, a hydro-electric generating system diverts the majority of the Umpqua River's flow into a 12-foot diameter pipe just before the water enters the gorge. The most accepted definition for the word "Umpqua" is "thunder water"; a name which certainly would have applied to this waterfall in the days prior to the water diversion. This vertical photograph was captured with a 6x7 format camera. All photos in these fine art photo galleries may be ordered as fine art framed prints or for stock photography usage.