All terrains

Falling water

Waterfalls destinations in the USA


A waterfall plate is a place where the water, not the canyon around it, is the reason you walked.

Palouse Falls, Washington — The Palouse dropping into its basalt bowl
FrontispiecePalouse Falls, Washington

Many falls already live under forest or canyon: Havasu, Burney, Silver, Tahquamenon, Palouse, Cumberland's neighbors in the East, and the Hill Country drops. They stay on those chapters and are gathered here. Fall Creek Falls is the tall Tennessee plunge. Cumberland Falls is the wide Kentucky river drop with a moonbow. Brandywine is the Berea sandstone veil in Cuyahoga Valley. Tallulah Gorge is the deep Georgia cut with a bridge.

Plates
25
States
18

States in this chapter

  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Georgia
  • Kentucky
  • Michigan
  • New Jersey / Pennsylvania
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Washington
  • West Virginia
  • Wyoming

Waterfalls chapter

The plates

The Palouse dropping into its basalt bowlPlate LXX

canyon46.7° N · 118.2° W

Palouse Falls

Channeled Scablands, Washington

A flood that ended twelve thousand years ago, still falling.

Open plate

Lower Calf Creek Falls in its sandstone roomPlate CXLVIII

canyon37.8° N · 111.4° W

Calf Creek

Grand Staircase–Escalante, Utah

A waterfall the canyon kept for itself.

Open plate

Shell Falls in the Bighorn National ForestPlate CLIX

canyon44.6° N · 107.6° W

Shell Falls

Bighorn National Forest, US-14, Wyoming

A short, hard fall the highway stops to hear.

Open plate

The 365-foot fall and cliff powerhouse above TelluridePlate CLXXVI

alpine37.9° N · 107.8° W

Bridal Veil Falls

head of the box canyon, Telluride, Colorado

A white thread the canyon kept for a last wall.

Open plate

The triple travertine cascade at Rifle FallsPlate CLXXXIX

canyon39.7° N · 107.7° W

Rifle Falls

East Rifle Creek, Colorado

Three white ropes the limestone let go.

Open plate

Zapata Falls in its dark rock cleftPlate CXC

canyon37.6° N · 105.6° W

Zapata Falls

near Great Sand Dunes, Colorado

A white fall the mountain hid in a crack.

Open plate

Water falling through the hole in the Donut Falls grottoPlate CXCIX

forest40.6° N · 111.7° W

Donut Falls

Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah

A fall the rock learned to pour through a hole.

Open plate

Havasu Falls dropping into its turquoise poolPlate CCXXXV

canyon36.3° N · 112.7° W

Havasu Falls

Havasupai Reservation, Arizona

A blue pool the red wall still holds.

Open plate

Middle Falls, a rainbow, and October color at LetchworthPlate CCCIX

canyon42.6° N · 78.0° W

Letchworth

Letchworth State Park, Genesee Gorge, New York

Middle Falls, a rainbow, and October hardwood.

Open plate

Upper Tahquamenon Falls in October colorPlate CCCX

forest46.6° N · 85.3° W

Tahquamenon Falls

Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Upper Peninsula, Michigan

Root-tea water under an Upper Peninsula maple.

Open plate

Blackwater Falls in October colorPlate CCCXIV

forest39.1° N · 79.5° W

Blackwater Falls

Blackwater Falls State Park, Canaan Valley, West Virginia

Amber water over a Blackwater ledge in October.

Open plate

Erie Falls on Kitchen Creek, Ricketts GlenPlate CCCXV

forest41.3° N · 76.3° W

Ricketts Glen

Ricketts Glen State Park, Kitchen Creek, Pennsylvania

A hemlock stair of named falls.

Open plate

Taughannock Falls in October hardwoodPlate CCCXVIII

canyon42.5° N · 76.6° W

Taughannock Falls

Taughannock Falls State Park, Cayuga Lake, New York

A white thread in a limestone bowl of October.

Open plate

Cedar Falls in the sandstone amphitheater, Petit JeanPlate CCCXIX

canyon35.1° N · 92.9° W

Petit Jean

Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas River Valley, Arkansas

A white drop in a ring of October sandstone.

Open plate

Burney Falls through fir, teal water at the footPlate CCCXX

forest41.0° N · 121.7° W

Burney Falls

McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, California

Spring water falling into a teal bowl.

Open plate

Upper Proxy Falls over mossed basaltPlate CCCXXI

forest44.2° N · 121.9° W

Proxy Falls

Three Sisters Wilderness, Willamette NF, Oregon

White threads on a green lava wall.

Open plate

South Falls over the fir canyon at Silver FallsPlate CCCXXII

forest44.9° N · 122.7° W

Silver Falls

Silver Falls State Park, near Silverton, Oregon

A long white drop into a fir canyon.

Open plate

Twin Falls on Richland Creek, Ozark National ForestPlate CCCXLVIII

forest35.9° N · 93.4° W

Richland Creek

Ozark National Forest, Newton County, Arkansas

Twin Falls in a quiet Ozark creek.

Open plate

Limestone ledges at Pedernales Falls, Hill CountryPlate CCCLXIII

canyon30.3° N · 98.2° W

Pedernales Falls

Blanco County, east of Johnson City, Texas

A Hill Country river laid out in stone steps.

Open plate

Rockhouse Falls, Fall Creek Falls State ParkPlate CD

waterfall35.7° N · 85.3° W

Fall Creek Falls State Park

Cumberland Plateau, near Spencer, Tennessee

A tall, straight fall in a Tennessee gorge.

Open plate

Cumberland Falls, Kentucky, taken late September 2005Plate CDI

waterfall36.8° N · 84.3° W

Cumberland Falls State Resort Park

Cumberland River, near Corbin, Kentucky

The wide fall Kentuckians call the Niagara of the South.

Open plate

Brandywine FallsPlate CDII

waterfall41.3° N · 81.5° W

Brandywine Falls

Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio

A veil of water on Berea sandstone, south of Cleveland.

Open plate

Tallulah FallsPlate CDIII

waterfall34.7° N · 83.4° W

Tallulah Gorge State Park

Tallulah River, Rabun County, Georgia

A deep Georgia gorge with a bridge and a staircase of falls.

Open plate

Hocking Hills State Park: Ash cavePlate CDXII

canyon39.4° N · 82.5° W

Hocking Hills State Park

Hocking County, near Logan, Ohio

A sandstone gorge country in the middle of Ohio.

Open plate

Delaware Water Gap, PennsylvaniaPlate CDXVII

canyon41.0° N · 75.1° W

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Kittatinny Ridge, Delaware River, New Jersey / Pennsylvania

A river gap in the ridge, and a handful of falls in the side creeks.

Open plate

Asked at the trailhead

Questions already asked

Where are the waterfall destinations in this atlas?
Open this index. Western falls such as Havasu and Palouse sit beside eastern ones: Fall Creek, Cumberland, Brandywine, Tahquamenon, and Tallulah Gorge.

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