Twelve Mile Circle

  • Niagara Falls

    U.S. – Canada Border (August 5, 2003) If you’re in the area of course you have to visit Niagara Falls. We parked on the New York side, and walked across the bridge into Canada (map). This was our son’s first international trip. We bought him a T-shirt and he made us put it on him…

  • Multnomah Falls

    Eugene to The Dalles to Portland, Oregon (May 12, 1998) We struggled from Eugene to Portland on I-5 through heavy rain and cut East on I-84, enjoying remarkable scenery along the Columbia River gorge. Clouds began to dissipate as we pushed through the mountains and descended into Hood River. Sunny skies broke through by the…

  • Mendenhall Glacier and Environs

    The City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska, USA (August 1995) Mendenhall Glacier (map) forms just north of the Mendenhall Towers, a portion of the Coast Mountains that reach nearly 7,000 feet. The glacier trends south from this point until it empties into a beautiful lake about 10 miles northwest of the city of Juneau and…

  • Glacier Bay Waterfalls and Terrain

    Hoonah-Angoon Census Area of the Unorganized Borough, Alaska, USA (August 1995) Tarr Inlet Not all of the snow that falls into Glacier Bay region packs into glaciers that calve into icebergs hundreds of years later when it eventually flows into the sea. Some of it simply melts as the summer progresses and rolls as liquid…

  • Great Falls Park

    On the Virginia Side of the Potomac River (2008) Sitting along the wide, placid shoreline of the Potomac River in Washington, DC, it’s hard to imagine raging rapids crashing through a narrow gorge just 15 miles upstream. Here stand the mighty Great Falls, rushing from those first foothills of the Appalachian Mountains further west (map).…

  • Hidden Falls

    Grand Teton National Park (1992) We’d hiked through various parts of Grand Tetons National Park for a few days and decided to wrap things up with an easy route to see the renowned Hidden Falls (map). We’d stayed away from them intentionally because of the crowds and our desire for a little more solitude. Even…

  • Perseverance Trail

    City and Burough of Juneau, Alaska, USA (August 1995) Ebner Falls Juneau has multiple hiking opportunities. The Perseverance Trail (map) is perhaps one of the most accessible. The trailhead is close to downtown where Basin Road ends. It was a path once used by Native Americans for hunting, gathering and fishing. It also became one…

  • Caldeira Velha

    São Miguel, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) Caldeira Velha clings precariously halfway down the volcanic mountain that forms Lagoa do Fogo in São Miguel’s middle interior (map). One of the amazing features of the caldera is a naturally heated swimming pool built beneath a gentle waterfall. The water’s rich mineral content stained the incline…

  • Waterfalls of the Finger Lakes

    New York (September 2006) Taughannock Falls The Taughannock Falls Cascade from High Above Taughannock Falls State Park lies on both sides of Route 89, eight miles north of Ithaca (map). The eastern side of the park flanks Cayuga Lake, and includes a boat launch, a playground and a sports field. The lake serves as a…

  • Blue Mountains Waterfalls

    New South Wales, Australia (1997) We rode the Great Western Highway out from Sydney for about two hours until arriving at Katoomba, high in the Blue Mountains. Along the way we stopped at a roadside attraction known as Scenic World, which has managed to convert an abandoned coal mine into a stop for enjoying the…


Latest Comments

  1. That was its original range before people spread it all around. Now it’s in lots of different places, including Oklahoma.

  2. I think that range needs to be expanded greatly. I’m in the Oklahoma City area and those are fairly prevalent…

  3. The law in the 1800s when most of the countries was being broke down into smaller one stated that you…

  4. Hi Mr. Howder — Just going from memory, I recall that your “rule” for counting a nation/state/county is “if I’m…