Wapta Falls

Wapta Falls Beautifully back-dropped by the high undulating peaks of the Ottertail Range of the Rocky Mountains, Wapta Falls, located on the Kicking Horse River, is one of the largest waterfalls in Yoho National Park. It is 30 metres (98 ft) high and 150 metres (490 ft) wide and has an impressive average water flow of 254 cubic metres per second (9000 cu ft/s). It is an easy 30 minute hike in from Hwy 1 near the town of Field, British Columbia. The name Wapta Falls comes from the Lakoda (Assiniboine) word meaning “river”. One story associated with the falls comes to us from the Palliser Expedition of 1857-1860, whose purpose was to explore the Western wilderness for possible routes for the CPR and to survey native flora and fauna. The expedition members were the first white explorers to map the Yoho area. Near Wapta Falls in the Spring of 1858, James Hector, the geologist, naturalist and surgeon on the expedition, was kicked in the chest while trying to catch a runaway pack horse. Taking him for dead, the expedition members began digging his grave, until 2 hours later when Hector unexpectedly blinked an eye. He recovered and the expedition carried on to make the first recorded entry into the Bow Valley from Big Hill and what is now Field, BC. The expedition named the river and mountain pass “Kicking Horse” in honour of Hector’s narrow brush with an untimely burial.