Crabtree Falls is one of the tallest sets of

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 ...

s in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

east of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. It is located in the

George Washington National Forest The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests is an administrative entity combining two U.S. National Forests into one of the largest areas of public land in the Eastern United States. The forests cover of land in the Appalachian Mountai ...

in Nelson County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, off of

Virginia State Route 56 State Route 56 (SR 56) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from U.S. Route 11 (US 11) at Steeles Tavern east to US 60 near Buckingham. SR 56 is the main east–west highway of Nelson County ...

. The name of the falls is thought to have come from William Crabtree, who settled in this part of Virginia in 1777. L.A. Snead, former US Assistant Fuel Administrator (WWI), environmentalist and notable Nelsonian, spearheaded negotiations to secure land surrounding Crabtree Falls after it was almost developed as a resort area in the late 1960s. Using personal and Congressional funds, the land deals were completed and the deeds transferred by LA Snead on June 3, 1968, to the National Forest System. This assured benefit for future generations of this magnificent Nelson County treasure. The set of waterfalls is often credited with being high, but topographic maps show the total drop to be closer to .U.S. Geological Survey Massies Mill 7.5-minute quadrangle Crabtree Falls is a series of cascading waterfalls, with five major cascades, the tallest of which drops about , and several smaller cascades, all over a total distance of approximately horizontally. The cascade with a drop also gives Crabtree Falls the title of tallest vertical drop in a waterfall east of the Mississippi River. However, the title of tallest free-fall vertical drop goes to Fall Creek Falls in Tennessee's

Fall Creek Falls State Park Fall Creek Falls State Resort Park is a state park in Van Buren and Bledsoe counties, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The over park is centered on the upper Cane Creek Gorge, an area known for its unique geological formations and scenic waterf ...

. There is a trail to the waterfall maintained by the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

called the Crabtree Falls Trail. Twenty-nine people have fallen to their deaths from leaving the trail to climb too close to the waterfalls. Recent deaths occurred April 2013, June 2015, and most recently, August 29, 2015.

References

External links

US Forest Service website for the Crabtree Falls TrailFee Schedule for Crabtree FallsWorld Waterfall entry for Crabtree FallsNelson County Webpage for Crabtree FallsTopoQuest Map of Crabtree Falls
Landmarks in Virginia Waterfalls of Virginia Protected areas of Nelson County, Virginia Landforms of Nelson County, Virginia {{NelsonCountyVA-geo-stub