Crabtree Falls (North Carolina)

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Crabtree Falls
Crabtree falls blue ridge parkway.jpg
Location Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge Parkway, Little Switzerland, North Carolina
Coordinates 35°49′10″N82°09′03″W / 35.8195°N 82.1508°W / 35.8195; -82.1508
Type Cascade
Total height 70 ft (21 m)
Number of drops 1

Crabtree Falls is a waterfall located near the boundary of McDowell County and Yancey County, North Carolina.

Waterfall Place where water flows over a vertical drop in the course of a river

A waterfall is an area where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops in the course of a stream or river. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.

McDowell County, North Carolina County in the United States

McDowell County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 44,996. Its county seat is Marion.

Yancey County, North Carolina County in the United States

Yancey County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,818. Its county seat is Burnsville.

Contents

Geology and Natural History

Crabtree Falls is a 70 ft. cascade on Big Crabtree Creek. The creek spreads over a rock face with many small ledges, giving it a delicate appearance, before trickling into a clear pool at the base. Though there are hardly any crabtrees here now, in the spring, an impressive array of wildflowers abound on the trail, including four species of trillium. [1] By July, ferns fill the forest and soak in the spray of the falls, with rosebay rhododendron in bloom.

<i>Trillium</i> genus of plants

Trillium is a genus of perennial flowering plants native to temperate regions of North America and Asia.

History

The Celo USGS topographic quadrangle map labels this falls "Upper Falls", and shows another waterfall some distance away and on another creek being called Crabtree Falls. Originally, the falls was known as Murphy's Falls and a small community was located nearby, including a church and blacksmith shop. When the Blue Ridge Parkway was constructed in the 1930s, the falls was renamed Crabtree Falls by the National Park Service.

Visiting the falls

The trailhead is located outside Crabtree Falls Campground at mile marker 339.5 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. A trail leads to a footbridge over the creek at the base of the falls. The trailhead loop starts at the parking area just before the entrance to the campground, and is a medium to strenuous hike at just under 2.5 miles in length. The path to the falls is a rugged, downhill 0.9-mile, with a gentler 1.5-mile uphill return following Crabtree creek upstream before looping back to the parking area. [1] [2]

Blue Ridge Parkway scenic parkway in the United States

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for 469 miles (755 km) through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It runs mostly along the spine of the Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains. Its southern terminus is at U.S. 441 on the boundary between Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina, from which it travels north to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. The roadway continues through Shenandoah as Skyline Drive, a similar scenic road which is managed by a different National Park Service unit. Both Skyline Drive and the Virginia portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway are part of Virginia State Route 48, though this designation is not signed.

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References

  1. 1 2 Adams, Kevin. North Carolina Waterfalls, pp. 137-140
  2. Logue, Logue & Blouin. (1997) Guide To The Blue Ridge Parkway; Menasha Ridge Press; ISBN   0-89732-550-8