- Corona Australis is a constellation in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere. Its Latin name means “southern crown”, and it is the southern counterpart of Corona Borealis, the northern crown. It is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. The Ancient Greeks saw Corona Australis as a wreath rather than a crown and associated it with Sagittarius or Centaurus. Other cultures have likened the pattern to a turtle, ostrich nest, a tent, or even a hut belonging to a rock hyrax.
- Nooksack Falls (waterfallsnorthwest.com)
Nooksack Falls is one of the most popular waterfalls in the North Cascades, as well as an essential pit stop on the way to Heather Meadows at the end of Highway 542. The falls plunge 88 feet in two segments. There has been some confusion regarding the height of the falls. Most accounts place the height at 170 feet. We have no idea where this figure initially originated, but it seems to have been propagated by Greg Plumb’s “Waterfall Lover’s Guide to the Pacific Northwest”. Signs which have since been erected at the falls clarify the height to be 88 feet, and this measurement has been bore out to be accurate by both our subsequent field surveys and high resolution lidar data.
