Seen here are the beautiful Elakala Waterfalls in Blackwater Falls State park, West Virginia, USA. Elakala Falls are a series of four waterfalls.
The first of the series of waterfalls is 35 feet (11 m) in height and is easily accessible from park trails. The remaining three waterfalls of the series are progressively more difficult to access, and have no official marked trails to them. The gorge is nearly 200 feet deep at this section accounting for the difficulty of the descent to the lower waterfalls of the series.
The name of the waterfalls comes from a Native American legend, although several significantly different versions exist. According to one account it involves a princess named Elakala who threw herself over the edge of the first waterfall when her lover scorned her. Another account of the legend involves a Massawomee warrior named Elakala who was girl-shy and fell to his death from the falls while being pursued by two women of his tribe. [source]
This photo, taken by ForestWander Nature Photography, was awarded second place in the Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year for 2009.
