Alarka Falls is a waterfall on Alarka Creek in Swain County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge region, with a total height of about 360 feet. It lies about 7.9 miles southeast of Bryson City and roughly 49.4 miles west of Asheville as the crow flies.
At 360 feet it stands in the tallest quarter of North Carolina’s 288 waterfalls with a recorded height, ranking 12th; the typical North Carolina waterfall is about 50 feet. The water comes down as a tiered waterfall, falling in several distinct steps one after another.
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.
There are 22 recorded waterfalls in Swain County. Falls Branch Falls, is about 1.4 miles away. Fall Branch Falls, is about 3.8 miles away. Dills Cove Falls, a 249-foot tiered waterfall, is about 8.4 miles away.
Alarka Falls is located at 35.3379° N, 83.3698° 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.