Phillips Branch Falls is a waterfall on Phillips Branch in Caldwell County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge region, with a total height of about 35 feet. It lies about 12 miles northwest of Gamewell and roughly 40.3 miles southeast of Johnson City as the crow flies.
At 35 feet it is on the modest side for North Carolina, where the typical waterfall with a recorded height stands around 50 feet; it ranks 185th of 288. The water comes down as a tiered waterfall, falling in several distinct steps one after another. It falls in 2 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.
There are 11 recorded waterfalls in Caldwell County. Harper Creek Falls, a 40-foot tiered waterfall, is about 1.1 miles away. Thorps Creek Falls, a 15-foot tiered waterfall, is about 2.3 miles away. South Harper Creek Falls, a 120-foot tiered waterfall, is about 2.3 miles away.
Phillips Branch Falls is located at 35.9685° N, 81.7714° 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.