Silver Strand Falls

At the western end of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, Silver Strand Falls is a westernmost waterfall that cascades down to Meadow Brook at 574 feet (175 meters).

Autumn Inspiration was the initial name of the falls, although it was never widely utilized. In the years that followed, it became known as the Widow's Tears because of the fact that the falls only flowed for a very short period of time.

Silver Strand Falls are located between Old Inspiration Point and Stafford Point where Meadow Brook enters Yosemite Valley after draining water from a small valley north of Badger Pass. The basin supplying water to the falls is quite modest as Meadow Brook continuously dries up in mid-July in years with more snowfall and can happen as early as June.

Most references to Silver Strand Falls give an incorrect elevation of 1,170 feet. This number is considered to have been provided by USGS surveyor Francois Matthes in 1916, like many other waterfalls in Yosemite Valley. While virtually all of the waterfalls that Matthes measured more than a century ago were very accurate, Silver Strand Falls' height is incorrect. According to the current USGS El Capitan quadrangle, the real height of the falls is around 574 feet, which is about half of Matthes' estimate.

In short, Silver Strand Falls:

• A westernmost waterfall at the western end of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park.
• The waterfall's original name was Autumn Inspiration and Widow's Tears.
• The basin supplying water to the falls is quite modest as Meadow Brook continuously dries up.