Widow’s Tears is a waterfall in Mariposa County, California, in the Sierra Nevada region, with a total height of about 1,680 feet. It lies about 5.4 miles southwest of Yosemite Valley and roughly 52.8 miles northeast of Merced as the crow flies.
At 1,680 feet it is among the ten tallest of the 286 California waterfalls with a recorded height, ranking 4th. The tallest single drop is 1,200 feet. The water comes down as a horsetail, where the water keeps some contact with the bedrock as it falls. It falls in 2 drops.
The Sierra Nevada is a long granite range with glacially carved canyons, alpine meadows and forests of ponderosa and Jeffrey pine, incense cedar and giant sequoia. Snowmelt-fed rivers pour over polished granite steps and cliffs, especially in spring and early summer.
There are 55 recorded waterfalls in Mariposa County. Silver Strand Falls, a 560-foot horsetail waterfall, is under a mile away. Bridalveil Fall, a 620-foot plunge waterfall, is about 1.3 miles away. Fireplace Creek Falls, is about 1.8 miles away.
Widow’s Tears is located at 37.7056° N, 119.6653° 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.