Cullasaja Falls ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. Retrieved 2013-02-08. is a

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

in south

western North Carolina Western North Carolina (often abbreviated as WNC) is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains; it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It contains the highest mountains in the Eastern United ...

. The waterfall is located on the

Cullasaja River The Cullasaja River ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Nantahala National Forest The Nantahala National Forest ( /ˌnæntəˈheɪlə/), is the largest of the four national forests in North Carolina, lying in the mountains and valleys of western North Carolina. The Nantahala is the second wettest region in the country, after the ...

and is part of the Mountain Waters Scenic Byway. ''Cullasaja'' comes from a

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

word meaning "

honey locust The honey locust (''Gleditsia triacanthos''), also known as the thorny locust or thorny honeylocust, is a deciduous tree in the family Fabaceae, native to central North America where it is mostly found in the moist soil of river valleys. Hon ...

place".

Geology

The falls is the last major waterfall on the Cullasaja River. The falls is a long cascade over the course of 0.2 miles (.3 km). The height of the falls is given as 200 ft (61 m) in Kevin Adams' book, '' North Carolina Waterfalls'' and 250 ft (77.1 m) by NCWaterfalls.com.NCWaterfalls.com
/ref>

Visiting the falls

It is easy to catch a glimpse of the falls while driving by; however, getting a better view of the falls is not easy. The falls are located beside of a series of blind curves on

U.S. 64 U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles (3,743 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 1 ...

, with sheer rock

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

s above and below the road. There is only one small

pull-off A pull-off is a stringed instrument playing and articulation technique performed by plucking or "pulling" the finger that is grasping the sounding part of a string off the fingerboard of either a fretted or unfretted instrument. This intermediate- ...

near the falls, but walking on the road puts visitors in danger of being hit by a passing vehicle.

Activities

Though difficult to reach, some use the falls as a place for leisure activities such as

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

(in the pool below) or

rappelling Abseiling ( ; ), also known as rappelling ( ; ), is the controlled descent of a steep slope, such as a rock face, by moving down a rope. When abseiling the person descending controls their own movement down the rope, in contrast to low ...

Nearby falls

* Quarry Falls *

Dry Falls Dry Falls is a scalloped precipice with four major alcoves, in central Washington scablands. This cataract complex is on the opposite side of the Upper Grand Coulee from the Columbia River, and at the head of the Lower Grand Coulee, northern ...

* Bridal Veil Falls

References

External links

North Carolina Waterfalls
* *{{cite web , url=http://www.ncwiseowl.org/CarolinaClips/caroclips/wfalls/cullasajafalls.html , title=Cullasaja Falls , work=Carolina Clips , access-date=2010-01-28 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101026045708/http://www.ncwiseowl.org/CarolinaClips/caroclips/wfalls/cullasajafalls.html , archive-date=2010-10-26 , url-status=dead
TopoQuest map of Cullasaja Falls
Waterfalls of North Carolina Protected areas of Macon County, North Carolina Nantahala National Forest Waterfalls of Macon County, North Carolina