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Fall Creek Falls State Park |
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Millions of years ago there was a great tectonic uplift of the ground that stretches northeast and southwest from Virginia to Alabama. This upheaval created a plateau 20 to 100 miles wide and over 700 miles long. All along these newly created highlands there still flowed a great many rivers. These bodies of moving water suddenly found themselves needing to travel from up there to the lower lands where they once existed. The river started eating the land it flowed over in attempt to lower itself to where it once was. Aeons of time have seen this action form large gorges in the land, often called "gulfs" in this region. These gulfs held within them a great wealth of natural splendor in its vast number of amazing waterfalls and steep sandstone sliffs.
The highest of these waterfalls is Fall Creek Falls, on the Cumberland Plateau of eastern Tennessee.. It is the highest single (not cascading) waterfall east of the Mississippi River at an impressive 256 feet. The picture at right shows the waterfall from a viewpoint atop Fall Creek Gulf. An easy trail descends along ominous and overhanging canyon walls into the damp gorge bottom to the base of the falls. From there you may continue along scattered rock debris and beneath the large concave bowl created by this huge waterfall's eroding power. As you find yourself directly behind the waterfall, you feel the sting of pelting water as the waterfall's spray bounds off of rocks. |
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There is a common route of travel for hikers in this canyon. It follows Fall Creek downstream from the base of the falls and continues about 3/4 mile before its terminus at Cane Creek. At this point you travel upstream for several miles, crossing through the river several times. This journey will lead you to the shorter, but still incredible Lower Cane Creek Falls. It's approximately 75 foot drop pales in comparison to its cousin a few short miles away, but it makes up for it with its volume. This is a major creek that dumps over these falls and into a deep cerulean pool below. Its constant blue hue comes from the presence of calcium carbonate, a naturally occuring mineral common to many mountain streams. After a long and sometimes exhausting hike from Fall Creek Falls, this large pool of beautiful blue water is a welcome destination for a quick dip. Because of its depth, this body of water remains cooler than many summer swimming spots in the area. It also gets less sunlight than some because it sits at the bottom of a deep bowl. giving the impression that you are in the bottom of a crater. |
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The last part of the trip is a short, but strenuous climb up a trail that has a cable running from one end to the other as aid to your ease and safety. From there you skirt the top of the gorge, stopping to view Upper Cane Creek Falls and continues over the upper part of Fall Creek before making a complete loop at Fall Creek Falls' upper observation deck.
Hey, check this place out. It is really beautiful. Look on the Tennessee map and find Fall Creek Falls State Park. It is between Nashville and Knoxville south of I-40 and Crossville.
Check out some more pics of this fabulous spot at the links below. |
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| Video of Fall Creek Falls (Real Player) |
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