Lower Sam Branch Falls is a 60-foot waterfall on Sam Branch in Haywood County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge region. It lies about 10.7 miles southeast of Hazelwood and roughly 26.4 miles southwest of Asheville as the crow flies.
At 60 feet it is taller than the typical North Carolina waterfall of about 50 feet, ranking 114th of 288 with a recorded height. By form it is 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. Sam Branch carries 2 recorded waterfalls; the biggest of them reaches 520 feet.
Haywood County holds 23 recorded waterfalls, and several are close by. Wash Hollow Falls, a 45-foot horsetail waterfall, is under a mile away. Upper Sam Branch Falls, a 520-foot tiered waterfall, is under a mile away. Sunburst Falls, a tiered waterfall, is under a mile away.
Lower Sam Branch Falls is located at 35.3403° N, 82.8970° 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.