Ribbon Fall

{{Use American English|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox waterfall | name = Ribbon Fall | photo = Ribbon Fall (5829970555).jpg | photo_caption = | location = Yosemite National Park, Mariposa County, California, United States | type = Plunge | height = 1,612 ft (491 m) | height_longest = | number_drops = 1 | average_flow = | world_rank = 99 | coords={{coord|37|44|09|N|119|38|54|W|region:US-CA_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}} | coords_ref=<ref name=gnis/> }}

'''Ribbon Fall''',<ref name=gnis>{{cite web |title=USGS National Mapping Information: Ribbon Fall |url={{Gnis3|265392}} }}</ref> located in Yosemite National Park in California, flows off a cliff on the west side of El Capitan and is the longest single-drop waterfall in North America.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldwaterfalldatabase.com/tallest-waterfalls/single-drop|publisher=Yosemite National Park Travel Guide|title=World's Tallest Waterfalls: By Tallest Individual Drop|accessdate=2020-10-09|work=World Waterfall Database}}</ref> The fall is fed by melting winter snow and the peak amount of water flow is during the months of May to June<ref>{{Cite news |title=Ribbon Fall {{!}} California, Yosemite, Hetch Hetchy {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Ribbon-Fall |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250530225124/https://www.britannica.com/place/Ribbon-Fall |archive-date=2025-05-30 |access-date=2026-01-16 |work=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref>; while therefore dry for much of the year, the fall is a spectacular 1,612 feet (491 m) in the spring. In exceptional years, an ice cone develops at its base during the winter months similar to that which usually forms beneath Upper Yosemite Fall. This deposit can reach a depth of 200 feet, versus 322 feet for the greatest depth of the ice cone beneath the Upper Fall and Lower Fall.

==Etymology== The Native American name for the waterfall was “Lung-yo to-co-ya,” which translates to “pigeon basket or nest,” likely referring to the band-tailed pigeons that inhabited the area. James Hutchings, however, translated the name as “long and slender” and renamed it “Ribbon Fall.” Lafayette Bunnell disagreed with Hutchings' interpretation and instead referred to it as “Pigeon Creek Fall.”<ref name="Hartesveldt1955">{{Cite journal|last=Hartesveldt|first=Richard J.|date=1955|title=Yosemite Valley Place Names|journal=Yosemite Nature Notes|url=https://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/yosemite_valley_place_names/|access-date=28 December 2024}}</ref><ref name="Bunnell1892">{{Cite book|last=Bunnell|first=Lafayette H.|date=1892|title=Discovery of the Yosemite|chapter=Chapter XIII|url=https://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/discovery_of_the_yosemite/13.html|access-date=28 December 2024|page=209}}</ref>

The waterfall has also been called “Virgin’s Tears,” a name reportedly coined by a sentimental woman in the 1860s, inspired by its brief seasonal flow, which she likened to the fleeting tears of a maiden.<ref name="Hartesveldt1955" /> thumb|155x155px|Ribbon Falls in Yosemite National Park <gallery> Image:Ribbon_fall_top.jpg|The top of Ribbon Fall. Image:Ribbon_fall_with_ice_cone.jpg|Ribbon Fall as seen from its base. Note the ice cone. File:Ribbon Falls in Spring - 2016.jpg </gallery> ==See also== *List of waterfalls *List of waterfalls in California

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Waterfalls of Yosemite National Park Category:Waterfalls of Mariposa County, California Category:Plunge waterfalls