Staircase Falls is a series of waterfalls located on Gossamer Creek in Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. The falls descend a total of 1300 feet (396.2 m) into Yosemite Valley

Yosemite Valley

Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of California, carved out by the Merced River. The valley is about long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines...

 over a series of steps. Staircase Falls is relatively ephemeral

Ephemeral

Ephemeral things are transitory, existing only briefly. Typically the term is used to describe objects found in nature, although it can describe a wide range of things....

 and only flows after rainfall. It is usually dry by May. The falls are located immediately behind Camp Curry on cliffs below Glacier Point

Glacier Point

thumb|right|upright|Glacier Point, as seen from [[Yosemite Valley]]. In springtime, this cliff face is covered with dozens of freshets and tiny waterfalls from the snowmelt, the largest being [[Staircase Falls]]....

.