Mitchell Falls is a waterfall located in

Yancey County Yancey County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,470. Its county seat is Burnsville. This land was inhabited by the Cherokee prior to European settlement, as was much of the S ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

on the slope of

Mount Mitchell Mount Mitchell, known in Cherokee as Attakulla, is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and the highest peak in mainland eastern North America. It is located near Burnsville in Yancey County, North Carolina in the Black Mountain subra ...

, the highest mountain in the Appalachian Mountain chain and highest point in the eastern

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 territorie ...

. The falls, the mountain and its related state park are named for

Elisha Mitchell Elisha Mitchell (August 19, 1793 – June 27, 1857) was an American educator, geologist and Presbyterian minister. His geological studies led to the identification of North Carolina's Mount Mitchell as the highest peak east of the Mississippi Rive ...

, a professor who, while confirming his measurements of the mountain, fell over a rocky ledge above the falls to his death on June 27, 1857.

Visiting the falls

The falls are located downstream from "far downstream of the Mount Mitchell State Park boundary" on a private property hunting reserve. Although it is normally forbidden, groups and photographers have in the past received special permission to access the falls. As the landowner has been an environmentally-conscious steward for the tract of land on which the falls lie, people wishing to visit the falls are highly encouraged to respect this and not to trespass in an attempt to see the falls but wait until such a trip is organized.

Nearby falls

* Several unnamed falls, including a fall occasionally mislabeled as Mitchell Falls * Walker Falls * Douglas Falls * Glassmine Falls * Setrock Creek Falls * Roaring Fork Falls *

Whiteoak Creek Falls {{Infobox waterfall , photo = Whiteoak_creek_falls_yancey_county_nc.jpg , photo_caption = , name = Whiteoak Creek Falls , location = Pisgah National Forest, Yancey County, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina , type = Cascade, Slide , ...

Occasional published works have erroneously identified the falls which has created some confusion as to which waterfall in the area is actually Mitchell Falls. Kevin Adams' book ''North Carolina Waterfalls'' misidentifies the falls from mislabeled photographs by

George Masa George Masa (c. 1881 – June 21, 1933), born Masahara Izuka, in Osaka, Japan, was a businessman and professional Large format, large-format photographer. He lived and worked in the United States. Creating a new life in America Masa arrived in ...

and Rufus Morgan. The falls listed in the Adams book use photographs by George Masa. The author updated his website with the corrected information and acknowledged the difficulty of many people identifying the correct waterfall because of four historical photos. All three falls (Mitchell Falls, those photographed by George Masa, and those photographed by Rufus Morgan) are on private property.

References

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External links

Craggy Gardens
at NCWaterfalls.com

at NCNatural.com Waterfalls of North Carolina Protected areas of Yancey County, North Carolina Pisgah National Forest Waterfalls of Yancey County, North Carolina