| Tahquitz Falls | |
|---|---|
 Tahquitz Falls, facing west | |
 | |
| Location | Tahquitz Canyon |
| Coordinates | 33°48′13″N 116°33′42″W / 33.8036°N 116.5617°W |
| Type | Staircase |
| Elevation | 890 ft (270 m) |
| Total height | 60 ft (18 m) |
Tahquitz Falls is a waterfall on Tahquitz Creek in the west skirt of the city Palm Springs, in the U.S. state of California. The waterfall is located in lower Tahquitz Canyon, a short distance upstream from the visitor center. The name of the canyon and its waterfall is from the spirit Tahquitz, a Cahuilla native of the Agua Caliente folklore.[1]
The river flows over a slab of granite atop the falls, after which it plunges about 60 feet (18 m)[2] into a pool. The fall is split once by a protrusion on the face of the canyon wall. The Tahquitz Falls is in the boundaries included in the National Register of Historic Places.
The falls are easily reached by proceeding upstream along the Tahquitz Canyon Trail. The trail gains approximately 350 feet (110 m) in altitude and runs past the waterfall forming a loop that returns to the waterfall and to the Visitor Center.[1] The canyon and its trail are owned and managed by the Agua Calientes Band of Cahuilla Indians.[3]
The Tahquitz Falls were used as a scene in Frank Capra's 1937 film Lost Horizon.[4]
The Tahquitz Falls was also used as one of the prominent locations in the Jim Morrison's privately-funded 1969 film HWY: An American Pastoral.[5]
