Farther away, or at low water, it can sound like bells, or even murmuring voices. Sometimes, particularly when you camp alone, the voice-like sounds can be unnerving, always just at the edge of hearing. I thought I heard just behind the falls. Maybe we're attracted to moving water because we are mostly water ourselves. Whatever it is, falls play an important role in the natural scheme of things.
Many native peoples count falls, cascades, and springs among their sacred spots.
Ecologists stress the importance of falls in creating microclimates for rare plants, and the natural boundaries they create for fish and aquatic life. And hikers continue to seek them out, even though good falls with solitude are getting harder to find. Development, diversion of creeks and streams, creation of reservoirs, and channelization have stilled many of the singing water. There are still great ones out there, though.