Crabtree Falls

Last updated
Crabtree Falls
Crabtree Falls.jpg
A portion of Crabtree Falls
Crabtree Falls
Location Nelson County, Virginia, U.S.
Coordinates 37°51′03″N79°04′42″W / 37.850833°N 79.078333°W / 37.850833; -79.078333
Type Cascade
Total height1,200 feet (370 m)
Number of drops5
Longest drop400 feet (120 m)

Crabtree Falls is one of the tallest sets of waterfalls in the United States east of the Mississippi River. It is located in the George Washington National Forest in Nelson County, Virginia, off of Virginia State Route 56. The name of the falls is thought to have come from William Crabtree, who settled in this part of Virginia in 1777. L.A. Snead, former US Assistant Fuel Administrator (WWI), environmentalist and notable Nelsonian, spearheaded negotiations to secure land surrounding Crabtree Falls after it was almost developed as a resort area in the late 1960s. Using personal and Congressional funds, the land deals were completed and the deeds transferred by LA Snead on June 3, 1968, to the National Forest System. This assured benefit for future generations of this magnificent Nelson County treasure.

Aerial view Aerial view of Crabtree Falls.jpg
Aerial view

The set of waterfalls is often credited with being 1,200 feet (370 m) high, but topographic maps show the total drop to be closer to 1,000 feet (300 m). [1] Crabtree Falls is a series of cascading waterfalls, with five major cascades, the tallest of which drops about 400 feet (120 m), and several smaller cascades, all over a total distance of approximately 2,500 feet (760 m) horizontally. [1] The cascade with a 400-foot (120 m) drop also gives Crabtree Falls the title of tallest vertical drop in a waterfall east of the Mississippi River. However, the title of tallest free-fall vertical drop goes to Fall Creek Falls in Tennessee's Fall Creek Falls State Park.

There is a trail to the waterfall maintained by the United States Forest Service called the Crabtree Falls Trail. Twenty-nine people have fallen to their deaths from leaving the trail to climb too close to the waterfalls. Recent deaths occurred April 2013, [2] June 2015, [3] [4] and most recently, August 29, 2015. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multnomah Falls</span> Waterfall in Oregon, U.S.

Multnomah Falls is a waterfall located on Multnomah Creek in the Columbia River Gorge, east of Troutdale, between Corbett and Dodson, Oregon, United States. The waterfall is accessible from the Historic Columbia River Highway and Interstate 84. Spanning two tiers on basalt cliffs, it is the tallest waterfall in the state of Oregon at 620 ft (189 m) in height. The Multnomah Creek Bridge, built in 1914, crosses below the falls, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taughannock Falls State Park</span> State park in New York state, United States

Taughannock Falls State Park is a 750-acre (3.0 km2) state park located in the town of Ulysses in Tompkins County, New York in the United States. The park is northwest of Ithaca near Trumansburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fall Creek Falls State Park</span> State park in Tennessee, United States

Fall Creek Falls State Resort Park is a state park in Van Buren and Bledsoe counties, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The over 30,638-acre (123.99 km2) park is centered on the upper Cane Creek Gorge, an area known for its unique geological formations and scenic waterfalls. The park's namesake is the 256-foot (78 m) Fall Creek Falls, the highest free-fall waterfall east of the Mississippi River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper Whitewater Falls</span> Waterfall in Jackson County / Transylvania County, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina

Upper Whitewater Falls is a waterfall in North Carolina on the Whitewater River. As with most of North Carolina's waterfalls, it is in the mountainous area of the state. There is a cluster of falls in the area where the borders of Georgia and the Carolinas come together. Whitewater Falls is part of that group, very close to the South Carolina border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prospect State Scenic Viewpoint</span> Waterfall in Prospect, Oregon

Prospect State Scenic Viewpoint, is a state park south of the community of Prospect on Oregon Route 62 in Jackson County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was formerly known as Mill Creek Falls Scenic Area, a private hiking area that was developed by Willamette Industries along the Rogue River. Both Mill Creek Falls and Pearsony Falls are contained within the area, with Barr Creek Falls close by.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaaterskill Falls</span> Waterfall in New York, United States

Kaaterskill Falls is a two-stage waterfall on Spruce Creek in the eastern Catskill Mountains of New York, between the hamlets of Haines Falls and Palenville in Greene County. The two cascades total 260 feet in height, making Kaaterskill Falls one of the highest waterfalls in New York, and one of the Eastern United States' tallest waterfalls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Setrock Creek Falls</span> Waterfall in Yancey County, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina

Setrock Creek Falls is a waterfall in the Pisgah National Forest, in North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonita Falls</span> Waterfall in California, United States

Bonita Falls are a set of waterfalls in the San Bernardino National Forest, formed by Bonita Creek, that is said to be 370 or 400 feet in height, but possibly up to 495 feet high because of two undocumented drops in the canyon above. It is the second tallest in the national forest, being surpassed only by 500-foot (150 m) Big Falls. These two waterfalls are reputably the tallest in southern California.

Blum Basin Falls is a waterfall in Whatcom County, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in North Cascades National Park on the headwaters of Blum Creek, a tributary of the Baker River. Fed by two small retreating glaciers and several snowfields on the southern side of Mount Blum, the waterfall is formed by the largest meltwater stream that feeds the mainstem of Blum Creek. The falls tumble 1,680 feet (510 m) down a high glacial headwall several miles within the national park in two distinct stages; the first is a series of slides over rounded rock, above the tree line, and the second is a series of near-vertical plunges to the forested valley below. Although most of the falls is clearly visible, parts of it are obscured by tall pines that grow at its base. There is no trail leading to the waterfall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sulphide Creek Falls</span> Waterfall in North Cascades National Park, Washington

Sulphide Creek Falls is a tall, moderately large volume waterfall within North Cascades National Park in Washington state that is one of the tallest waterfalls in North America. The falls drop from Sulphide Lake on the southeast side of Mount Shuksan down a narrow flume-like canyon to a broad basin below. Because of the narrow, twisting shape of the canyon the waterfall is exceptionally difficult to see from ground-level perspectives. The total vertical drop of the waterfall is in the range of 2,100 feet (640 m) to 2,200 feet (670 m) feet, but it has not yet been accurately measured. Foot access to the bottom of the waterfall involves 2.5 miles (4.0 km) of off-trail travel in extremely brushy terrain and several potentially dangerous fords of a large stream.

There are multiple waterfalls in the basin of the North Fork Cascade River, a river in the North Cascades of Washington that drains to the Cascade River. Many of these are taller than the more famous waterfalls in North America, but do not receive much attention due to their remoteness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pearl Falls</span> Waterfall in Washington (state), United States

Pearl Falls is one of the highest waterfalls in Mount Rainier National Park in the U.S. state of Washington. It is fed by the glacial Pearl Creek, occurring about halfway along the creek's course.

The valley of the West Fork Foss River contains a fair amount of waterfalls. The river heads in a series of large lakes: Big Heart Lake, Angeline Lake, and Otter Lake- which form spectacular waterfalls as they plunge down to Delta Lake. On the valley walls downstream of Delta Lake, are found even more waterfalls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salt Creek Falls</span> Waterfall in Lane County, Oregon

Salt Creek Falls is a cascade and plunge waterfall on Salt Creek, a tributary of the Middle Fork Willamette River, that plunges into a gaping canyon in the Willamette National Forest near Willamette Pass in Lane County, Oregon. The waterfall is notable for its main drop of 286 feet (87 m), ranking third highest among plunge waterfalls in Oregon, after Multnomah Falls and Watson Falls.) The pool at the bottom of Salt Creek Falls waterfall is 66 feet (20 m) deep.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterfalls in Ricketts Glen State Park</span> Waterfalls in Ricketts Glen State Park in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania

There are 24 named waterfalls in Ricketts Glen State Park in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania along Kitchen Creek as it flows in three steep, narrow valleys, or glens. They range in height from 9 feet (2.7 m) to the 94-foot (29 m) Ganoga Falls. Ricketts Glen State Park is named for R. Bruce Ricketts, a colonel in the American Civil War who owned over 80,000 acres in the area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but spared the old-growth forests in the glens from clearcutting. The park, which opened in 1944, is administered by the Bureau of State Parks of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). Nearly all of the waterfalls are visible from the Falls Trail, which Ricketts had built from 1889 to 1893 and which the state park rebuilt in the 1940s and late 1990s. The Falls Trail has been called "the most magnificent hike in the state" and one of "the top hikes in the East".

Alkali Falls, is a multi-step waterfall of 6 tiers located in the east side of the Rogue–Umpqua Divide Wilderness, just west of Mount Bailey and Diamond Lake, on Oregon Route 230 in Douglas County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. It totals 510 feet (160 m) fall in six drops, the Upper Alkali and tallest drop is 130 feet (40 m), making it one of the tallest cascades in Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winter Falls</span> Waterfall in Silver Falls State Park

Winter Falls, is a waterfall located in the Silver Falls State Park at the east end of the city of Salem, in Marion County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located in a privileged area on the west foothills where Mount Hood National Forest meets with the Middle Santiam Wilderness. Several prominent waterfalls are located in the Park along Trail of Ten Falls: South Falls, Lower South Falls, Lower North Falls, and Drake Falls—among others.

References

  1. 1 2 U.S. Geological Survey Massies Mill 7.5-minute quadrangle
  2. "LU student who died at Crabtree Falls identified". Lynchburg News & Advance. Lynchburg, Virginia. 9 April 2015.
  3. "Person Falls To Death At Crabtree Falls In South Nelson". Blue Ridge Life Magazine. 7 June 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. Roy, Eleanor (8 June 2015). "Young man dies at Crabtree Falls in Nelson County". The Roanoke Times.
  5. "Man Dies While Hiking Crabtree Falls in Nelson County". NBC29. 29 August 2015.