Crescent Falls

{{Short description|Two waterfalls on the Bighorn River in Alberta, Canada}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}}{{Infobox waterfall

| name = Crescent Falls

| photo = Crescent Falls 2007-06.jpg

| photo_caption = Crescent Falls

| map = CAN AB Clearwater

| coordinates = {{coord|52.3873|-116.3557|format=dms|display=inline,title|type:landmark_region:CA-AB}}

| location = Clearwater County, Alberta

| type = Tiered

| height = {{convert|27|m|abbr=on}}

| number_drops = 2

| watercourse = Bighorn River

| average_flow =

| world_rank =

}}

Crescent Falls is a series of two waterfalls located on the Bighorn River in the Bighorn River Canyon in west-central Alberta, Canada. They were originally called the Bighorn Falls, after the river they are located on.{{Cite web|url=http://www.albertawow.com/hikes/Crescent_Falls/Crescent_Falls.htm|title=Crescent Falls Hike|website=www.albertawow.com|access-date=2016-04-24}} The current name is a reference to the crescent cliff over which they drop.

The falls are located a few kilometres upstream of the river's confluence with the North Saskatchewan River. A {{convert|4.5|km||adj=mid|-long}} gravel road leads north from David Thompson Highway (between Abraham Lake and Nordegg) to the falls. The Crescent Falls Provincial Recreation Area is immediately up-river from the falls.{{Cite web|url=http://gateway.cd.gov.ab.ca/siteinformation.aspx?id=129|title=Crescent Falls Provincial Recreation Area|author=Alberta Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture|accessdate=2008-02-12}}{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

The waterfall is two-tiered and has a height of {{convert|27|m|ft|abbr=}}.{{Cite web|first=|date=|title=Crescent Falls|url=http://www.worldwaterfalls.com/waterfall.php?falls=Crescent%20Falls%20AB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070723193245/http://www.worldwaterfalls.com/waterfall.php?falls=Crescent%20Falls%20AB|archive-date=2007-07-23|accessdate=2008-02-12|website=World Waterfalls}} Visitors are allowed at the waterfalls year-round.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theoutbound.com/canada/hiking/explore-crescent-falls|title=Explore Crescent Falls|website=www.theoutbound.com|language=en-US|access-date=2016-04-24}} The rock ledges around the top of the falls are slippery and fatal drops have occurred.{{Cite news|last=Theobald|first=Claire|date=2015-06-24|title=Two men fall to their deaths at Crescent Falls lookout point in Alberta|url=https://edmontonsun.com/2015/06/23/two-men-fall-to-their-deaths-at-crescent-falls-lookout-point-in-alberta|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-24|website=edmontonsun|language=en-CA}} Additionally, people have died by being swept under the waterfall after swimming at the bottom of the falls.{{Cite news|date=2020-08-12|title=Three people drown at Crescent Falls|url=https://www.reddeeradvocate.com/news/three-people-drown-at-crescent-falls-say-rocky-mountain-house-rcmp/|access-date=2021-01-24|website=Red Deer Advocate|language=en-US}}

Arthur Philemon Coleman, a professor of geology at the University of Toronto, made the first mention of the falls in 1892 and described them as having a "far better scenery than we had been used to in the foot-hills".{{Cite book|last1=Ross|first1=Jane|title=The David Thompson highway hiking guide|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1080638227|last2=Kyba|first2=Dan|date=2016|publisher=Rocky Mountain Books |isbn=978-1-77160-092-7|language=English|oclc=1080638227}}

A sitting bench next to the falls is dedicated to James Hammond and placed there by his family after his death. Hammond was an avid outdoorsman and was especially fond of this location.