Granite Gorge Falls is a 219-foot waterfall on Thornton Creek in Whatcom County, Washington, in the North Cascades region. It lies about 30.4 miles northeast of Darrington and roughly 54.3 miles east of Bellingham as the crow flies.
At 219 feet it stands in the tallest quarter of Washington’s 941 waterfalls with a recorded height, ranking 188th; the typical Washington waterfall is about 82 feet. The tallest single drop is 62 feet. By form it is a tiered waterfall, falling in several distinct steps one after another, combined with a horsetail character. It falls in 8 drops.
The North Cascades are a wilderness of jagged peaks, glaciers and deep, forested valleys of western hemlock, silver fir and Douglas fir, with some of the heaviest snowfall in the country. Meltwater from glaciers and snowfields pours down thousands of feet of cliffs in countless cascades and horsetail falls. Thornton Creek carries 2 recorded waterfalls, and Granite Gorge Falls is the tallest of them.
Whatcom County holds 348 recorded waterfalls, and several are close by. Trappers Peak Falls, a 304-foot cascade waterfall, is under a mile away. Waterfall 30 mi NE of Darrington, is under a mile away. Upper Swayel Falls, a 29-foot veiling cascade waterfall, is about 1.4 miles away.
Granite Gorge Falls is located at 48.6502° N, 121.3084° 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.