Upper Cold Branch Falls is a waterfall on Cold Branch in Graham County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge region, with a total height of about 30 feet. It lies about 14 miles northwest of Andrews and roughly 42.5 miles south of Knoxville as the crow flies.
At 30 feet it is on the modest side for North Carolina, where the typical waterfall with a recorded height stands around 50 feet; it ranks 201st of 288. The tallest single drop is 20 feet. The water comes down as a tiered waterfall, falling in several distinct steps one after another. It falls in 2 drops.
The Blue Ridge is the highest part of the southern Appalachians, a range of forested peaks and coves with oak, hickory, tulip poplar and hemlock and spruce-fir on the summits, in one of the wettest climates in the East. Steep mountain streams drop over granite, gneiss and quartzite ledges, giving the region hundreds of waterfalls. Cold Branch carries 2 recorded waterfalls, and Upper Cold Branch Falls is the tallest of them.
There are 12 recorded waterfalls in Graham County. Lower Cold Branch Falls, 30 feet high, is under a mile away. Wolf Laurel Branch Falls, is about 1 miles away. Wright Creek Falls, 65 feet high, is about 2.4 miles away.
Upper Cold Branch Falls is located at 35.3480° N, 83.9961° W. The listing is based on the World Waterfall Database, one of the sources compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey in its inventory of waterfalls and rapids of the conterminous United States. The exact position has not yet been verified on aerial imagery, so treat the map pin as approximate. Details on trails, parking and access have not been documented for this waterfall yet.