Two scientists have conducted a recent measurement of a remote waterfall, indicating that the little-explored falls in the rugged boreal shield of northern Manitoba may be the tallest in the province. Alexander Martin and Lukas Olson utilized digital photogrammetry to measure Kapakaytay Falls on the Odei River. Their initial findings suggest a height of 16 meters, slightly surpassing the 14-meter Kwasitchewan Falls, located southwest of Thompson, which is widely recognized as Manitoba’s highest waterfall.
Olson, a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia specializing in photogrammetry, expressed confidence in the measurement accuracy, with a margin of error of one meter. Although Kapakaytay Falls was previously measured by the federal government decades ago, the height of 17 meters listed on topographical maps has not been widely circulated, according to Martin, a Winnipeg resident and a PhD student in ecology at the University of Oxford.
The falls are situated on the Odei River, approximately 40 kilometers northwest of Thompson and 690 kilometers north of Winnipeg, making them very challenging to access. Martin described the falls as “very inaccessible” due to their location in wildfire-affected forests with difficult terrain, necessitating navigation through rapids and logjams.
In July, Olson and Martin embarked on a 105-kilometer paddling expedition, with assistance from local guides, to reach Kapakaytay Falls. The researchers were amazed when they caught their first glimpse of the waterfall after days of paddling, describing it as breathtaking due to its sheer size and the volume of water cascading over the rocks.
Their research, inspired by a previous expedition in 2019, involved using over 1,000 two-dimensional images captured by a drone for digital photogrammetry. By also taking laser measurements of surrounding trees and natural features, they estimated that Kapakaytay Falls stands at approximately 16 meters, potentially making it taller than Kwasitchewan Falls, which is 14 meters high.
Olson and Martin are currently working on publishing their findings and hope that their documentation of the falls will aid future research of the site. Despite the extensive mapping of the globe, Martin emphasized that there are still unexplored opportunities for discovery and documentation.