|
HistoryThe park was dedicated June 3, 1951. For many years the falls were called "Aput Aput," meaning "falling water." Later, the name was changed to commemorate the Palouse Indian culture.
According to a story of the Palouse tribe, the Palouse River once flowed smoothly into the Snake. But four giant brothers, in pursuit of a mythic creature called "Big Beaver," speared the great creature five times. Each time Big Beaver was wounded, he gouged the canyon walls, causing the river to bend and change. The fifth time he was speared, he fought the brothers valiantly and tore out a huge canyon. The river tumbled over a cliff at this point to become Palouse Falls. The jagged canyon walls show the deep marks of Big Beaver's claws.
Interpretive opportunitiesThere are interpretive panels throughout the park about the Ice Age Floods and the creation of the canyon.
|