Big Falls is a waterfall on Thompson River in Transylvania County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge region, with a total height of about 640 feet. It lies about 19.1 miles southwest of Brevard and roughly 35.9 miles west of Greenville as the crow flies.
At 640 feet it is among the ten tallest of the 288 North Carolina waterfalls with a recorded height, ranking 1st. The tallest single drop is 125 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. Thompson River carries 9 recorded waterfalls, and Big Falls is the tallest of them.
There are 133 recorded waterfalls in Transylvania County. Standing Stone Falls, a tiered waterfall, is under a mile away. Middle Upper Thompson Falls, a 35-foot cascade waterfall, is under a mile away. Bearcamp Falls, a 60-foot slide waterfall, is about 1.1 miles away.
Big Falls is located at 35.0459° N, 82.9825° 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 position was verified on aerial imagery. Details on trails, parking and access have not been documented for this waterfall yet.