A paradise of more than 20,000 acres sprawled across the eastern top of the rugged Cumberland Plateau, Fall Creek Falls State Park is one of the most scenic and spectacular outdoor recreation areas in America. Laced with cascades, gorges, waterfalls, streams, and lush stands of virgin hardwood timber, the park beckons those who enjoy nature at her finest. While Fall Creek Falls, at 256 feet, is the highest waterfall in the eastern United States, other waterfalls in the park are Piney and Cane Creek Falls and Cane Creek Cascades.The oak and hickory forest that covers most of the park gives way to tulip poplar and hemlock forest in the gorges. The plants and animals of the moist, protected gorges are not unlike the species found in southern Canada. Mountain laurel and rhododendron are abundant throughout the park, as are other plants and animals.
It is a beautiful waterfall, and certainly has a nice plunge, but I’ve been questioned on the veracity of the website’s claim of it being the highest waterfall in the eastern United States. Doing a bit of searching on the web, I found this site, the World Waterfalls Database. This is by no means an exhaustive listing, as it didn’t even contain this waterfall, but it did list a number of waterfalls in the eastern United States which would appear to be higher than Fall Creek Falls. Here’s the list:
- Beaver Brook Cascades, New Hampshire – 1000 feet
Crabtree Falls, Virginai – 1000 feet
Smugglers Falls, Vermont – 880 feet
Amicalola Falls, Georgia – 729 feet
Windy Falls, North Carolina – 720 feet
Buckeye Falls, Tennessee – 600 feet
Caledonia Cascade, Georgia – 600 feet
Clark Gully Falls, New York – 600 feet
Cochrans Falls, Georgia – 600 feet
Buttermilk Falls, New York – 500 feet
Patterson Gully Falls, New York – 500 feet
Youngest Stepsister Cascade, New York – 500
Desoto Falls, Georgia – 480 feet
Upper Whitewater Falls, North Carolina – 411 feet
Cinderella Cascade, New York – 400 feet
Denton Brook Cascade, New York – 400 feet
Eldest Stepsister Cascade, New York – 400 feet
Laurel Falls, North Carolina – 400 feet
Lower Whitewater Falls, South Carolina – 400 feet
Nancy Cascades, New Hampshire – 400 feet
Rock Creek Falls, North Carolina – 400 feet
Stepmother Cascade, New York – 400 feet
Hickory Nut Falls, North Carolina – 351 feet
Giant Falls, New Hampshire – 350 feet
Inspiration Falls, New York – 350 feet
Dryad Fall, New Hampshire – 325 feet
Roaring Brook Falls, New York – 325 feet
Redington Pond Falls, Maine – 321 feet
Benjamin Falls, Vermont – 320 feet
Raven Cliff Falls, South Carolina – 320 feet
Big Falls, South Carolina – 300 feet
T Lake Falls, New York – 300 feet
Twin Falls, North Carolina – 300 feet
Alpine Cascades, New Hampshire – 280 feet
