Laurel Branch Falls is a waterfall on Laurel Branch in Jackson County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge region, with a total height of about 138 feet. It lies about 9.4 miles southeast of Cullowhee and roughly 41.9 miles southwest of Asheville as the crow flies.
At 138 feet it stands in the tallest quarter of North Carolina’s 288 waterfalls with a recorded height, ranking 52nd; the typical North Carolina waterfall is about 50 feet. The water comes down as a tiered waterfall, falling in several distinct steps one after another. It falls in 3 drops.
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. Laurel Branch carries 3 recorded waterfalls, and Laurel Branch Falls is the tallest of them.
There are 79 recorded waterfalls in Jackson County. Lower Fowler Branch Falls, is under a mile away. Fowler Branch Falls, a cascade waterfall, is under a mile away. Onion Cliff Falls, is about 1.9 miles away.
Laurel Branch Falls is located at 35.1922° N, 83.1028° 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.