The classic western waterfall guide is A Waterfall Lover’s Guide to the Pacific Northwest: Where to Find Hundreds of Spectacular Waterfalls in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, by Gregory A. Plumb (a geographer, like myself). It has good maps, a description of each falls and directions to reach it. Each falls is categorized for accessibility (drive to, hike to, etc.), form (plunge, punchbowl, block...), and rated with one to five stars. I have had various editions of this book since it first came out. Highly recommended.

My only complaint about Greg's book is that it only covers Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Not his fault, there are a lot of waterfalls in the northwest (he lists over 500). It's just that I would like a book of similar thoroughness and quality for every part of the West: one for California and the Southwest (yes there are waterfalls even in Arizona), another for the Rockies, and especially one for Canada and Alaska. It is ironic that there is no guide to waterfalls in British Columbia, home to thousands of spectacular falls including some of the world's greatest (Helmcken, Hunlen, Takakkaw, Shannon, and Della).

There is a comprehensive guide to waterfalls in California: California Waterfalls, by Ann Marie Brown. It is very thorough, listing 225 falls, including many that I had never heard of (mostly in Southern California). Recommended. Some people complain that many of the falls in this book have very little water, and that even some of the most famous dry up in the summer. Well, that's California. You can't have six straight months of sunny rainless days every year and still have waterfalls year around. If you want to see California's famous falls (such as in Yosemite), do it in spring and early summer. If you want to see some of the exotic amazing small falls in Southern California, go in winter, right after a stretch of rainy weather.

Here is a truly unique waterfall guide: Romance of Waterfalls: Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington, by Garry W. Cohen and Barbara L. Bloom (illustrator). The back cover sums it up: "A joyous celebration of nature’s most romantic wonders." It covers 100 waterfalls (all within daytrip range of Portland), with maps and practical information, natural history, and Indian lore. Each falls is illustrated, not with a mundane photograph, but with artwork by Bloom, and accompanied by a poem written by Cohen. Each falls also gets a "romance rating", and there is even advice on the best kissing spots!

The Rocky Mountains have several good guides, though no one book covers it all. Charles Maynard has written Waterfalls of Grand Teton National Park and Waterfalls of Yellowstone National Park, and John Fielder presents Colorado Waterfalls.

Then there is The Guide to Yellowstone Waterfalls and Their Discovery. The authors enumerate not only the famous "postcard" falls - Upper and Lower Yellowstone and Tower Falls, but also the 50 "known" falls, and 200 previously "unknown" falls. They have combed the park (for many years) and found absolutely every waterfall. An amazing work of research and a great book. Recommended.

As for the Southwest, there is just Dick Wunder's 100 Utah Waterfalls, many of which are in the Rockies. There aren't many waterfalls in this arid part of the country, but a few are really spectacular, such as Havasu and Mooney in the Grand Canyon, and Baseachic in northwest Mexico.

The only thing that tries to be a comprehensive waterfall guide to North America is Waterfalls USA, by Carla Bowers and James Grass (illustrator). I've heard some pretty harsh criticisms of this book - low production values, inaccurate information, quirky selection of what to include and exclude.

Guidebooks to Waterfalls

Bowers, Carla, Waterfalls USA

*Brown, Ann Marie, California Waterfalls

Cohen, Garry, and Barbara Bloom, Romance of Waterfalls: Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington

Fielder, John, Colorado Waterfalls

Maynard, Charles, Waterfalls of Grand Teton National Park

Maynard, Charles, Waterfalls of Yellowstone National Park

*Plumb, Gregory A., A Waterfall Lover’s Guide to the Pacific Northwest: Where to Find Hundreds of Spectacular Waterfalls in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho

*Rubenstein, Paul, Lee H. Whittlesey, Mike Stevens, Judith Meyer, The Guide to Yellowstone Waterfalls and Their Discovery

Wunder, Dick, 100 Utah Waterfalls

* recommended