List of waterfalls in North Carolina

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Looking Glass Falls is one of the most popular and easily accessible waterfalls in North Carolina Looking Glass Falls.jpg
Looking Glass Falls is one of the most popular and easily accessible waterfalls in North Carolina

The waterfalls of North Carolina , U.S.A., are a prominent feature of the geography of the Piedmont and mountain regions of the state, as well as a major focus of tourism and outdoor recreation. Many of these falls are located in state parks, national forests, wildlife management areas, and other public lands, as well as private property. Many are accessible via established hiking trails, and some developed areas include boardwalks, observation platforms, picnic areas, and other amenities. Some of the highest and most voluminous waterfalls in the eastern United States are located in North Carolina.

Contents

Many of the waterfalls in the state are located in Transylvania County, which is called "The Land of Waterfalls". This is due to the orographic lift that results in the area having one of the highest average rainfalls in the United States (90 inches per year). [1]

Falls by county

This list is incomplete. Please feel free to add waterfalls to this list and to create articles about the waterfalls.

Visitors should always follow rules of safe waterfall hiking when visiting waterfalls.

Buncombe County

Although parts of Buncombe County receive less average rainfall than any other location in the Southeastern US, Buncombe County still has several waterfalls.

Burke County

Clay County

Jackson County

Macon County

Madison County

McDowell County

Montgomery County

Polk County

Rutherford County

Stokes County

Home to the isolated Sauratown Mountains.

Swain County

Soco Falls Soco falls in Autumn colors.jpg
Soco Falls

Transylvania County

This area receives more average annual rainfall than any other place in the Eastern United States - over 90 inches a year.

Wilkes County

Yancey County

See also

Related Research Articles

Bridal Veil Falls, Bridalveil Falls or Bridalveil Fall is a frequently-used name for waterfalls that observers fancy resemble a bride's veil:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transylvania County, North Carolina</span> County in North Carolina, United States

Transylvania County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census the population is 32,986. Its county seat is Brevard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macon County, North Carolina</span> County in North Carolina, United States

Macon County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,014. Its county seat is Franklin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin, North Carolina</span> Town in North Carolina, United States

Franklin is a town in and the county seat of Macon County, North Carolina, United States. It is situated within the Nantahala National Forest. The population was reported to be 4,175 in the 2020 census, an increase from the total of 3,845 tabulated in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highlands, North Carolina</span> Town in North Carolina, United States

Highlands is an incorporated town in Macon County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located on a plateau in the southern Appalachian Mountains, within the Nantahala National Forest, it lies mostly in southeastern Macon County and slightly in southwestern Jackson County, in the Highlands and Cashiers Townships, respectively. The permanent population was 1,014 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cullasaja River</span> Stream in North Carolina, US

The Cullasaja River is a short river located entirely in Macon County, North Carolina. It is a tributary of the Little Tennessee River into which it flows near the county seat of Franklin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gorges State Park</span> State park in North Carolina, United States

Gorges State Park is a 7,709-acre (31.20 km2) North Carolina state park in Transylvania County, North Carolina in the United States and along with other conservation lands is part of a 100,000+ acre conservation corridor stretching some 80 miles along the NC/SC state line. The land, along Jocassee Gorges, was purchased by the state from Duke Energy Corporation in 1999. It is North Carolina's westernmost state park and one of the state's newest. The park is adjacent to part of the Pisgah National Forest and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission's Toxaway Game Land. Gorges State Park provides the principal access to the Horsepasture River on these adjoining public lands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DuPont State Forest</span> Protected area in North Carolina, United States

DuPont State Recreational Forest, commonly known as DuPont Forest, is a 12,500-acre (51 km2) state forest, located in Henderson and Transylvania counties of North Carolina. The name originates from the fact that the DuPont company arranged the sale of the original tract to the state. Adjacent tracts have since been purchased and added to the state forest. Portions of the forest formerly contained a manufacturing facility for the production of X-ray film. The forest was used to shoot scenes from the 1992 film The Last of the Mohicans as well as the 2012 box office hit The Hunger Games. On February 12, 2019, the forest added 402 acres (1.63 km2) from Conserving Carolina, part of a section called the Continental Divide Tract that connects with other public lands. 314 more acres was added to the forest in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Falls (DuPont State Forest)</span> Waterfall in Transylvania County, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina

High Falls, on the Little River in Transylvania County, is a 125 ft waterfall located in the DuPont State Forest, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triple Falls (DuPont State Forest)</span> Waterfall in Transylvania County, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina

Triple Falls is a 125-foot waterfall located in the DuPont State Forest, southeast of Brevard, North Carolina.

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

Hooker Falls is a 14-foot waterfall located in the DuPont State Forest, southeast of Brevard, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridal Veil Falls (DuPont State Forest)</span> Waterfall in Transylvania County, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina

Bridal Veil Falls is a waterfall in the DuPont State Forest, on the Little River, near Brevard, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Falls</span> Waterfall in Buncombe County, North Carolina

Douglas Falls are a 60-foot waterfall located in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is on a tributary of Waterfall Creek which flows into the Ivy River, and it is within the Big Ivy section of the Pisgah National Forest. The stream flows off the slope of Craggy Pinnacle, starting just below the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is surrounded by a forest of very large Eastern Hemlock trees, which are dead following attack by the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid. Visitors should be very careful when visiting this falls, as the dead Hemlocks will start to decay and fall within the next few years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walker Falls</span> Waterfall in Buncombe County, North Carolina

Walker Falls is a 45-foot cascading waterfall in Buncombe County, North Carolina. Its ease of access makes it a popular destination for waterfall hunters. It is in a region of Buncombe County that has a large number of small waterfalls and several larger falls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hickory Nut Falls</span> Waterfall in Rutherford County, North Carolina

Hickory Nut Falls, also known as Hickorynut Falls, is a waterfall located at Chimney Rock State Park in Rutherford County, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainbow Falls (Rutherford County)</span> Waterfall in Rutherford County, North Carolina

Rainbow Falls is a waterfall located in Chimney Rock, Rutherford County, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McWay Creek</span> River in California, United States

McWay Creek is a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) coastal stream in Monterey County in the U.S. state of California. It flows steeply west and south from McWay Canyon, high in California's Central Coast Range, and spills into the Pacific Ocean at Waterfall Cove after flowing over scenic McWay Falls. Most of the creek and its watershed are contained within Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, 12 miles (19 km) south of Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. The creek is named after Christopher McWay from New York, a pioneer who homesteaded the property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Rock Falls (North Carolina)</span> Waterfall in Buncombe County, North Carolina

Big Rock Falls is a waterfall in Western North Carolina, United States, located on private property on Little Pisgah Mountain near Fairview, Buncombe County, North Carolina.

References

  1. "NC State Climate Office". Archived from the original on 2007-12-23. Retrieved 2007-11-28.