Upper Laurel Falls is a waterfall on Laurel Fork in Carter County, Tennessee, in the Blue Ridge region, with a total height of about 25 feet. It lies about 2.8 miles north of Roan Mountain and roughly 16.4 miles east of Johnson City as the crow flies.
At 25 feet it is on the modest side for Tennessee, where the typical waterfall with a recorded height stands around 30 feet; it ranks 171st of 332.
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. Laurel Fork carries 5 recorded waterfalls; the biggest of them reaches 55 feet.
There are 17 recorded waterfalls in Carter County. Firescald Branch Falls, is about 1.1 miles away. Dennis Cove Falls, a 25-foot tiered waterfall, is about 1.6 miles away. Lower Dennis Cove Falls, 10 feet high, is about 1.8 miles away.
Upper Laurel Falls is located at 36.2372° N, 82.0742° 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 creek name is confirmed against the federal Geographic Names Information System. 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.