# Rapid fall through the chute -- a sault on the river? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 28, 2019, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191 "2019-06-28T00:24:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191/1 "2019-06-28T00:24:00Z")
I’m looking to find towns that are named after natural obstructions to river navigation, i.e. falls and rapids. But they can also be named in other languages, such as French. “Waterfall” in French is _chute d’eau_, although it seems that French Canadian usually uses the word _sault_ for them. So anyway, I compiled the following list using just my brain. That is, I didn’t use Google, Wikipedia, my Rand McNally Road Atlas, or any other reference. (OK, I did look up what state/province a couple places were in, but only when I knew there was a place with that name.) [ul] [li]American Falls ID[/li][li]Cedar Rapids IA[/li][li]Cuyahoga Falls OH[/li][li]Grand Rapids MI[/li][li]Grand-Sault/Grand Falls NB[/li][li]Great Falls MT[/li][li]Idaho Falls ID[/li][li]International Falls MN[/li][li]Kettle Falls WA[/li][li]Klamath Falls OR[/li][li]Little Chute WI[/li][li]Long Sault ON[/li][li]Niagara Falls NY[/li][li]Niagara Falls ON[/li][li]Post Falls ID[/li][li]Sault Ste Marie MI[/li][li]Sault Ste Marie ON[/li][li]Sioux Falls SD[/li][li]Twin Falls ID[/li][/ul] I’m rather proud of how long a list I could compile without references, so I separated it from this list of additions I found with some help: [ul] [li]Chelan Falls WA[/li][li]Falls of Rough KY[/li][li]Seneca Falls NY[/li][/ul] I’m sure the above list is incomplete so I’m asking for help. What others are there? Note 1: Fall River MA and Rapid City SD are **not** named after waterfalls or rapids, so please don’t suggest them. Note 2: Bedford Falls and Frostbite Falls are fictional, so you can skip those, too. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191/2 "2019-06-28T00:31:22Z")
Chagrin Falls, OH Muscle Shoals, Alabama ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191/3 "2019-06-28T00:48:25Z")
Spokane WA originally known as Spokane Falls. “The same year it was officially incorporated as a city with the name of Spokane Falls (it was reincorporated under its current name ten years later)” ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191/4 "2019-06-28T01:33:12Z")
Sheboygan Falls, Oconto Falls, and Menomonee Falls, WI Crystal Falls, and Boyne Falls, MI ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191/5 "2019-06-28T01:55:48Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Chagrin Falls, OH > Muscle Shoals, Alabama I’m chagrinned I didn’t think of Muscle Shoals. Really, I figured there was some generic term in use, but couldn’t think of it. And I knew about that town with its misspelled mussels. > [@steatopygia](#): > > Spokane WA originally known as Spokane Falls. > > “The same year it was officially incorporated as a city with the name of Spokane Falls (it was reincorporated under its current name ten years later)” I knew that, but had forgotten. Thanks everyone so far. Keep 'em coming. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191/6 "2019-06-28T02:44:09Z")
Montour Falls, NY ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191/7 "2019-06-28T03:16:16Z")
To round out our collection of Northeast Ohio Falls you’ve got Monroe Falls and Olmstead Falls too. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191/8 "2019-06-28T03:32:07Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I’m looking to find towns that are named after natural obstructions to river navigation, i.e. falls and rapids. How about fords? That is shallow parts of the river that can be crossed on foot. examples: Oxford, Stratford, Bradford, Guildford, Chelmsford. > [@](#): > > But they can also be named in other languages, such as French. Frankfurt. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191/9 "2019-06-28T03:38:20Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > How about fords? That is shallow parts of the river that can be crossed on foot. Think I’ll pass on the fords. While they’re shallow, they aren’t necessarily a barrier to shallow draft boats. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191/10 "2019-06-28T05:28:53Z")
[The Dalles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dalles,_Oregon), OR. _Les dalles_ in French means “the slabs,” referring to flat rocks that produced rapids there. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191/11 "2019-06-28T11:46:59Z")
Do ghost towns count? If so, there is also Rocky Bar Idaho. Although I’m not sure if the river was actually navigable at all. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191/12 "2019-06-28T11:55:38Z")
I’d think that the “navigation head” of a river would also count as an obstruction, so Elkton Maryland would count at the head of the Elk River, as it used to have one of the funniest town names: “Head of Elk”. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191/13 "2019-06-28T12:13:17Z")
Interestingly, THE big ride at amusement parks around the beginning of the 20th century was the _Shoot the Chutes_ ride. In fact, the first acknowledged amusement park – Sea Lion Park in Coney Island – was basically built around Paul Boyton’s patented version of the ride in 1895. By a decade later, every amusement park being built around the United States was basically built around an incarnation of the Shoot the Chutes. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191/14 "2019-06-28T12:18:12Z")
Wichita Falls, and Marble Falls, Texas ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191/15 "2019-06-28T12:27:59Z")
The town of Bow, NH was named for a bow in the Merrimack River, but I’m guessing that wouldn’t meet the criteria of a barrier. Hampton Falls, NH Bar Harbor, ME Livermore Falls, ME Mechanic Falls, ME Island Falls, ME Columbia Falls, ME Portage Lake, ME - Maybe, not sure if this is on a navigable waterway Passadumkeag, Maine - The name means “quick water” in Abenaki, not sure if that refers to rapids Central Falls, RI Woonsocket, RI - The origin of the name is unclear, but one theory suggests that it’s from “Thunder Mist”, referring to the waterfall in the center of the city. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191/16 "2019-06-28T13:13:56Z")
Grand Rapids, MN: From [wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Rapids,_Minnesota): > [@](#): > > The city of Grand Rapids is named for the 3.5-mile (5.6 km) long local rapids in the Mississippi River, which was the uppermost limit of practical steamboat travel during the late 19th century. Similarly, Thief River Falls, MN, which wiki says signifies the limit of navigation on the Red Lake River. There may be others in Minnesota that I am forgetting. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191/17 "2019-06-28T13:42:10Z")
Near me is the town of [Ohiopyle, PA.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohiopyle,_Pennsylvania) > [@](#): > > One of the few remnants of American Indian culture that can be found in the area is in the name. “Ohiopyle” is derived from the Lenape phrase ahi opihəle which means ‘it turns very white’, referring to the frothy waterfalls. ETA: Ohiopyle’s falls are on the [Youghiogheny River.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youghiogheny_River) There is also a town of the same name. > [@](#): > > Youghiogheny is a Lenape word meaning “a stream flowing in a contrary direction”.[7] ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191/18 "2019-06-28T13:51:58Z")
High Falls, NY ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191/19 "2019-06-28T20:09:44Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Portage Lake, ME - Maybe, not sure if this is on a navigable waterway If [portages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portage_(disambiguation)), which are usually due to an obstacle to navigation, count, there are a lot of them in several states and provinces. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapid-fall-through-the-chute-a-sault-on-the-river/836191/20 "2019-06-28T21:30:00Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > If [portages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portage_(disambiguation)), which are usually due to an obstacle to navigation, count, there are a lot of them in several states and provinces. Nah, I’ll skip portages. They aren’t necessarily due to rapids or falls. Sometimes they’re just where two different drainages were close enough to walk between. Good addition of The Dalles, though. I used to live only 20 miles from there and I knew there was a waterfall there at one time, but I had no idea how extensive they were until I read the Wikipage on them just now. The whole thing is behind a dam now, so you just see placid water if you drive by. The Wisconsin Dells are etymologically related to that word.[sup]1[/sup] I’m not sure if they actually blocked river navigation or not; it’s Wikipage doesn’t say. [sup]1[/sup] Also related geologically. Both were narrow channels where glacial flooding funneled through when the last glaciation ended.