{{Use American English|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox waterfall | name = Tahquitz Falls | photo = Tahquitz Falls 1.jpg | photo_caption = Tahquitz Falls, facing west | location = Tahquitz Canyon | type = Staircase | elevation = {{convert|890|ft|abbr=on}} | height = {{convert|60|ft|abbr=on}} | drop = | number_drops = | average_flow = | coords = {{coord|33.8036|-116.5617|type:landmark_region:US-OR|display=inline,title}} }}
'''Tahquitz Falls''' is a waterfall on Tahquitz Creek in the west skirt of the city Palm Springs, in the U.S. state of California. The waterfall is located in lower Tahquitz Canyon, a short distance upstream from the visitor center. The name of the canyon and its waterfall is from the spirit Tahquitz, a Cahuilla native of the Agua Caliente folklore.<ref name=TheSDUT>{{cite news|title=Palm Springs hiking, from sand to snow|url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/lifestyle/travel/sdut-palm-springs-hiking-from-sand-to-snow-2013feb22-htmlstory.html|last=Lister|first=Priscilla |date=22 Feb 2013|work=The San Diego Union-Tribune|accessdate=29 August 2017}}</ref>
The river flows over a slab of granite atop the falls, after which it plunges about {{convert|60|ft|m}}<ref name=NWwaterfalls>{{cite web |url= http://www.worldwaterfalldatabase.com/waterfall/Tahquitz-Falls-6924|title=Tahquitz Falls Riverside County, California|last1= |first1= |last2= |first2= |date= |website=Northwest Waterfall Survey |publisher= |accessdate=29 August 2017|quote=}}</ref> into a pool. The fall is split once by a protrusion on the face of the canyon wall. The Tahquitz Falls is in the boundaries included in the National Register of Historic Places.
{{wide image|Tahquitz Falls pano.jpg|700 px|Tahquitz Falls in late fall 2020}}
==Access== The falls are easily reached by proceeding upstream along the Tahquitz Canyon Trail. The trail gains approximately {{convert|350|ft|m}} in altitude and runs past the waterfall forming a loop that returns to the waterfall and to the Visitor Center.<ref name=TheSDUT /> The canyon and its trail are owned and managed by the Agua Calientes Band of Cahuilla Indians.<ref>{{cite news|title=From hippie hangout to Indian natural preserve, Tahquitz Canyon outside Palm Springs remains a popular place to visit|url=https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2004/dec/23/hippie-hangout-indian-natural-preserve-tahquitz-ca/#|last=Schad|first=Jerry|date=23 Dec 2004|work=San Diego Reader|accessdate=29 August 2017}}</ref>
== In popular culture == The Tahquitz Falls were used as a scene in Frank Capra's 1937 film ''Lost Horizon''.<ref>{{AFI film|6322|Lost Horizon}}</ref>
The Tahquitz Falls was also used as one of the prominent locations in the Jim Morrison's privately-funded 1969 film ''HWY: An American Pastoral.''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jim Morrison's HWY: An American Pastoral |url=http://mildequator.com/filmhistory/hwy.html |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=mildequator.com}}</ref>
== See also == * Tahquitz (spirit), the Cahuilla spirit the falls were named for. * List of waterfalls * List of waterfalls in California
== References == {{Commons category}} {{Reflist}}
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Category:Waterfalls of California Category:Geography of Riverside County, California Category:Geography of the Colorado Desert Category:Palm Springs, California Category:Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Category:Coachella Valley Category:Plunge waterfalls Category:San Jacinto Mountains