The High Falls are 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 several wa ...

on the

Genesee River The Genesee River is a tributary of Lake Ontario flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York in the United States. The river provided the original power for the Rochester area's 19th century mills and still provides h ...

in the city of

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

. They are one of three waterfalls within the city; the Middle and Lower Falls are about downstream. The High Falls area was the site of much of Rochester's early industrial development, where industry was powered by falling water. Brown's Race diverts water from above the falls and was used to feed various flour mills and industries; today the water is used to produce hydroelectric power. The High Falls may be viewed from the

Pont De Rennes bridge The Pont De Rennes bridge is located in the Brown's Race Historic District of Rochester New York at the base of the High Falls where it spans the Genesee River. The Pont De Rennes bridge formerly carried Platt Street over the river but was conv ...

, a pedestrian bridge that spans the Genesee River a few hundred feet from the base of the falls. The High Falls were the site of the final jump of "The Yankee Leaper"

Sam Patch Sam Patch (1799Johnson, Paul. ''Sam Patch, the Famous Jumper'' (New York: Hill and Wang, 2003) . – November 13, 1829), known as "The Jersey Jumper", "The Daring Yankee", or the "Yankee Leaper" became the first famous American daredevil after su ...

who died after jumping off of the High Falls in 1829. An abstract representation of the High Falls is used on the logo of

Rochester New York FC Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos t ...

as a symbol of the city.

References

Waterfalls of New York (state) New York (state) populated places on the Genesee River Geography of Rochester, New York Tourist attractions in Rochester, New York Block waterfalls Landforms of Monroe County, New York {{waterfall-stub