Purgatory Falls is a 232-foot waterfall on Damnation Creek in Skagit County, Washington, in the North Cascades region. It lies about 28.5 miles northeast of Darrington and roughly 52.9 miles east of Bellingham as the crow flies.
At 232 feet it stands in the tallest quarter of Washington’s 941 waterfalls with a recorded height, ranking 177th; the typical Washington waterfall is about 82 feet. By form it is a tiered waterfall, falling in several distinct steps one after another, combined with a plunge character. It falls in 5 drops.
The North Cascades are a wilderness of jagged peaks, glaciers and deep, forested valleys of western hemlock, silver fir and Douglas fir, with some of the heaviest snowfall in the country. Meltwater from glaciers and snowfields pours down thousands of feet of cliffs in countless cascades and horsetail falls.
Skagit County holds 178 recorded waterfalls, and several are close by. Lower Swayel Falls, is under a mile away. Swayel Falls, a 34-foot tiered plunge waterfall, is about 1 miles away. Upper Swayel Falls, a 29-foot veiling cascade waterfall, is about 1 miles away.
Purgatory Falls is located at 48.6318° N, 121.3449° W. The listing is based on the World Waterfall Database, one of the sources compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey in its inventory of waterfalls and rapids of the conterminous United States. The creek name is confirmed against the federal Geographic Names Information System. The exact position has not yet been verified on aerial imagery, so treat the map pin as approximate. Details on trails, parking and access have not been documented for this waterfall yet.