Big Bluff Falls is a 16-foot waterfall on Rock Creek in Polk County, Tennessee, in the Blue Ridge region. It lies about 4.4 miles southeast of Benton and roughly 37.3 miles east of East Chattanooga as the crow flies.
At 16 feet it is on the modest side for Tennessee, where the typical waterfall with a recorded height stands around 30 feet; it ranks 238th of 332. By form it is a fan, spreading out horizontally as it falls and staying in contact with the rock.
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. Rock Creek carries 5 recorded waterfalls; the biggest of them reaches 65 feet.
Polk County holds 10 recorded waterfalls, and several are close by. Thornburg Mountain Falls, a tiered waterfall, is under a mile away. Chestnut Mountain Falls, a 40-foot horsetail waterfall, is under a mile away. Benton Falls, a 65-foot fan waterfall, is under a mile away.
Big Bluff Falls is located at 35.1324° N, 84.5945° 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.