Canyon Falls is the second of the three waterfall

Waterfall

A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...

s on the South Fork Skykomish River

Skykomish River

The Skykomish River is a Washington river which drains the west side of the Cascade Mountains in the southeast section of Snohomish County and the northeast corner of King County. The river starts with the confluence of the North Fork Skykomish River and South Fork Skykomish River approximately one...

. The falls occur about halfway between Eagle Falls and Sunset Falls

Sunset Falls

Sunset Falls is the final of the three waterfalls on the South Fork Skykomish River. The falls drop in a long, narrow, powerful chute. The river is thought to attain speeds of an hour and the chute is nearly long...

.

The falls drop about 40 feet in three tiers. The first is a powerful 20 foot plunge in which the relatively calm river suddenly attains chaotic state. The next 2 drops are tumultuous cascades. The river is pretty calm both prior to and after dropping over the falls.

Problems

There have been many incidents at Canyon Falls, most of which are deaths that resulted because people have been swept over the falls. In the past, numerous people have died because they failed to notice in time that they were approaching the falls simply because the river is so calm above the falls. Many of those deaths were deaths of people who were floating down the river in inner tubes or rafts.

On June 14, 1994, 19 year old Steven Henderson pleaded guilty of first degree murder back on Feb 1st, when he killed his friend at the falls. The two men had bought beer and headed down to the falls. They soon got drunk and when his friend, Don E. Hood, made a remark about his mother, Henderson lost it. He chucked a football-sized rock at Hood, knocking him out. He then dragged his friend to the edge of the rocks before pushing him into the falls, where he drowned. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison

Prison

A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

for it.

In the past, there have been disagreements between the people that own the land around and at the falls and the public. The landowners are tired of people trespassing on their land so as a result the land has been posted.