Chestnut Mountain Falls is a 40-foot waterfall in Polk County, Tennessee, in the Blue Ridge region. It lies about 4.8 miles southeast of Benton and roughly 37.7 miles east of East Chattanooga as the crow flies.
At 40 feet it is taller than the typical Tennessee waterfall of about 30 feet, ranking 103rd of 332 with a recorded height. By form it is a horsetail, where the water keeps some contact with the bedrock as it falls.
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.
Polk County holds 10 recorded waterfalls, and several are close by. Big Bluff Falls, a 16-foot fan waterfall, is under a mile away. Thornburg Mountain Falls, a tiered waterfall, is under a mile away. Benton Falls, a 65-foot fan waterfall, is under a mile away.
Chestnut Mountain Falls is located at 35.1308° N, 84.5873° 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.