McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park
Encyclopedia
Burney, California
Burney is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in Shasta County, California, United States. The population was 3,154 at the 2010 census, down from 3,217 at the 2000 census...
, McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park is the second oldest state park
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
in the California State Parks System. The park offers camping
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
, fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, watersports, hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
and horseback riding facilities. The park is mainly known for the waterfall, Burney Falls
Burney Falls
Burney Falls is a waterfall on Burney Creek, in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, Shasta County, California.The water comes from underground springs above and at the falls, which are 129 feet high, and provides an almost constant flow rate of 100 million US gallons per day , even during...
, at the entrance of the park. Wildlife in the park, as far as most campers see, consists mainly of many types of bass
Bass (fish)
Bass is a name shared by many different species of popular gamefish. The term encompasses both freshwater and marine species. All belong to the large order Perciformes, or perch-like fishes, and in fact the word bass comes from Middle English bars, meaning "perch."-Types of basses:*The temperate...
and trout
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
in the streams, and land animals such as Steller's Jay
Steller's Jay
The Steller's Jay is a jay native to western North America, closely related to the Blue Jay found in the rest of the continent, but with a black head and upper body. It is also known as the Long-crested Jay, Mountain Jay, and Pine Jay...
s, squirrels, woodpeckers, deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
, and even the occasional black bear will meander into campgrounds.
Geology
The park is within the Cascade RangeCascade Range
The Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...
and Modoc Plateau
Modoc Plateau
The Modoc Plateau lies in the northeast corner of California as well as parts of Oregon and Nevada. It is a mile-high expanse of lava flows with cinder cones, juniper flats, pine forests, and seasonal lakes. The plateau is thought to have been formed approximately 25 million years ago...
natural region, with 910 acres (4 km²) of forest and five miles (8 km) of streamside and lake shoreline, including a portion of Lake Britton
Lake Britton
Lake Britton is a reservoir located in Shasta County, California. It is known for its wide variety of bass and trout. It is situated to the west of State Route 89, and is surrounded mostly by McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, and runs along North Shore campgrounds and Dusty Campgrounds. It...
.
The park's centerpiece is the 129 foot (39 m) Burney Falls
Burney Falls
Burney Falls is a waterfall on Burney Creek, in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, Shasta County, California.The water comes from underground springs above and at the falls, which are 129 feet high, and provides an almost constant flow rate of 100 million US gallons per day , even during...
, which is not the highest or largest 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...
in the state, but arguably the most beautiful. Additional water comes from springs, joining to create a mist-filled basin. Burney Creek originates from the park's underground springs and flows to Lake Britton, getting larger along the way to the falls.
The park's landscape was created by volcanic activity as well as erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
from weather and streams. This volcanic region is surrounded by mountain peaks and is covered by black volcanic rock
Volcanic rock
Volcanic rock is a rock formed from magma erupted from a volcano. In other words, it is an igneous rock of volcanic origin...
, or basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
. Created over a million years ago, the layered, porous basalt retains rain
Rain
Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface...
water and snow
Snow
Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
melt, which forms a large underground reservoir.
Within the park, the water emerges as springs at and above Burney Falls, where it flows at 100 million gallons every day (4.4 m³/s).
History
Burney Falls was named after pioneer settler Samuel Burney who lived in the area in the 1850s1850s
- Wars :* Crimean war fought between Imperial Russia and an alliance consisting of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Second French Empire, the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Ottoman Empire...
. The McArthurs were pioneer settlers who arrived in the late 19th century. Descendants were responsible for saving the waterfall and nearby land from development. They bought the property and gave it to the state as a gift in the 1920s
1920s
File:1920s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Sean Hogan during the Irish Civil War; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the 18th amendment, which made alcoholic beverages illegal throughout the entire decade; In...
.
Burney Creek
Burney Creek is the creek that separates the falls from Lake Britton, and is the only area in the park where fishing is totally accepted. It is possible to go up to ten yards of the falls, and the view is so obstructed that its virtually impossible to tell that one is even that close; so onlookers at the visitors center are sometimes lucky to see people that appear to be ready to walk over the waterfall.Hiking
There are five miles (8 km) of hiking trails winding through the park's evergreen forests. The Pacific Crest TrailPacific Crest Trail
The Pacific Crest Trail is a long-distance mountain hiking and equestrian trail on the Western Seaboard of the United States. The southern terminus is at the California border with Mexico...
passes through the park, and the park store can be used as a general delivery mailing address for hikers. There is also a hike to the Pioneer's Cemetery, (the longest hike in the park at around 3 miles.) There are three main trails leading from the falls; The Falls Loop Trail, Burney Creek Trail, and the Headwaters Loop Trail – all of which start near the visitor's center.
The primary trail is the Falls Loop Trail (3/4 mile) that begins at the Burney Falls overlook. From there, is descends to the bottom of the falls, proceeds downstream to the Rainbow Footbridge. From there, it crosses Burney Creek and ascends back on the other side of the ravine (providing alternate views of the falls), and finally returning across the creek again via Fisherman’s Bridge.
The first alternate trail is the Burney Creek Trail (1 mile). It leads downstream from the Falls Loop Trail, at Rainbow Bridge, to Lake Britton and the swimming/boating area. It travels through some magnificent mixed coniferous forest and patches white diatomaceous earth. The second alternate is the Headwaters Trail (1 mile loop) that loops upstream from the Fisherman’s Bridge parking lot to the headwaters spring (feeding Burney Falls). The loop returns crossing the Pacific Crest Trail Footbridge, back downstream, and finally crossing Fisherman’s Bridge back to Fisherman’s parking lot.
Lake Britton
Also, a portion of Lake Britton (owned by PG&E) is accessible to all park visitors for swimming, boating, water sports, and a small portion is reserved for fishing. The water flowing into Lake Britton from Burney Creek stays at approximately 42 degrees Fahrenheit, (6 degrees Celsius). The people who go boating are able to enjoy the 9 mile long lake and are able to explore numerous nooks and crannies well beyond the boundaries of McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park. These include a rail bridge that was used in the 1986 movie Stand By MeStand by Me (film)
Stand by Me is a 1986 American drama film directed by Rob Reiner. Based on the novella The Body by Stephen King, the film takes its title from the Ben E. King song of the same name, which plays over the end credits.-Plot:...
, the Pit River Dam, many independent boat docks, and a villa owned by the PG&E employee association. Also, boaters can often pick up kin tired from the strenuous Falls Loop Trail. In contrast to bringing a speed boat, one can also rent canoes, kayaks, paddle boats, or motorized patio boats to ride on the lake.
For the Kids
After dark there are a number of different interactive shows that park rangers put on via overhead projector; common scenarios include: campfire safety, the Old Station forest fire of 1989, causing the park to evacuate, and other informative, educational presentations.Also, the park offers a junior rangers program, in which a park ranger leads the children through a day in the life of a park ranger, and a myriad of other activities for youngsters.
Trivia
- The railroad bridge scene from the 1986 film Stand By MeStand by Me (film)Stand by Me is a 1986 American drama film directed by Rob Reiner. Based on the novella The Body by Stephen King, the film takes its title from the Ben E. King song of the same name, which plays over the end credits.-Plot:...
was filmed just outside the park on a bridge owned by the McCloud River Railroad over Lake Britton.
- Half of Burney Falls was seen in the 1988 George LucasGeorge LucasGeorge Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
/Ron HowardRon HowardRonald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
movie Willow. The other half was digitally removed from the shots.
- The falls were called "the Eighth Wonder of the World" by President Theodore Roosevelt.
- Declared a National Natural Landmark in December 1984.