Ozone Falls State Natural Area is a state natural area in
Cumberland County, Tennessee in the southeastern United States. It consists of centered on
Ozone Falls, a plunge waterfall, and its immediate gorge along Fall Creek. Because of its picturesque beauty and easy access,
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
selected Ozone Falls for scenes for their live-action film
"Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book"''.''
The area is managed by the
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) is a Cabinet-level agency within the government of the U.S. state of Tennessee, headed by the Tennessee Commissioner of Environment and Conservation.
The Department of Conservation ...
and maintained by
Cumberland Mountain State Park
Cumberland Mountain State Park is a state park in Cumberland County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The park consists of situated around Byrd Lake, a man-made lake created by the impoundment of Byrd Creek in the 1930s. The park ...
. It is also part of
Cumberland Trail State Park.
Geographical setting
Ozone Falls is situated along Fall Creek, which drains a short section of the
Cumberland Plateau between the
Crab Orchard Mountains
The Crab Orchard Mountains are a rugged, detached range of the southern Cumberland Mountains. They are situated in East Tennessee atop the Cumberland Plateau just west of the plateau's eastern escarpment, and comprise parts of Morgan, Anderso ...
to the west and
Walden Ridge
Walden Ridge (or Walden's Ridge) is a mountain ridge and escarpment located in Tennessee, in the United States. It marks the eastern edge of the Cumberland Plateau and is generally considered part of it. Walden Ridge is about long, running g ...
to the east. The creek flows down from its source high in the Crab Orchard Mountains for a mile or so before steadying briefly as it enters the community of
Ozone
Ozone (), or trioxygen, is an inorganic molecule with the chemical formula . It is a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope , breaking down in the lo ...
. it then enters the state natural area just after passing under
U.S. Route 70, which runs perpendicular to it. It spills over Ozone Falls a few hundred meters south of US-70.
Beyond Ozone Falls, the creek slices through a small gorge and proceeds southward for several more miles before emptying into Piney Creek. The confluence of the creeks occurs at a point where
Roane County,
Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to:
Australia
* Cumberland County, New South Wales
* the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia
Canada
*Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
United Kingdom
* Cumberland, historic county
*Cumberla ...
and
Rhea County all meet. Fall Creek is part of the
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...
watershed.
The Fall Creek that spills over Ozone Falls is ''not'' the same stream as the Fall Creek that spills over
Fall Creek Falls in
Van Buren County; the latter is part of the
Cumberland River watershed.
Features
The Ozone Falls State Natural Area consists of Ozone Falls and the gorge immediately downstream. The gorge area around the waterfall's plungepool slopes inward from the top edge, creating a half-dome shape along the gorge's walls. Short hiking trails allow access to the waterfall's overhang and plungepool, as well as the cliffs above the gorge. The trailhead is located along US-70.
History
Migrants crossing the
Cumberland Plateau en route to the
Nashville area in the early 19th century wrote of
Ozone Falls in journals and letters sent to relatives back home. The waterfall was located adjacent to the Walton Road, which was part of the
stage
Stage or stages may refer to:
Acting
* Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions
* Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage"
* ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper
* Sta ...
route connecting East and Middle Tennessee (the road closely paralleled what is now US-70). One traveler along this road, Elijah Haley, died while passing through the area in 1806. His widow established a tavern at what is now the community of Ozone shortly thereafter, and later helped operate the Crab Orchard Inn at
Crab Orchard, a few miles to the west.
The waterfall was known as McNair Falls throughout the 19th century, named after a local miller who operated a
grist mill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...
at the waterfall in the 1860s. In 1896, the community of Mammy, which had grown up around the Haley tavern, changed its name to Ozone, and the name was subsequently applied to the waterfall.
The name reflected the high quality of air in the community, which may have been enhanced by the waterfall's mists.
The Ozone Falls State Natural Area was established in 1973, and originally consisted of . In 1996, it was expanded to .
See also
*
Burgess Falls State Park
Burgess Falls State Park is a state park and state natural area in Putnam County and White County, Tennessee, located in the southeastern United States. The park is situated around a steep gorge in which the Falling Water River drops in eleva ...
*
Cummins Falls State Park
References
External links
Ozone Falls State Natural Area— official site
Protected areas of Cumberland County, Tennessee
Nature reserves in Tennessee
{{Protected areas of Tennessee