Rainbow Falls is a 40-foot waterfall on Middle Creek in Hamilton County, Tennessee, in the Southwestern Appalachians region. It lies about 1.3 miles west of Signal Mountain and roughly 6.5 miles northwest of 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 punchbowl, where the water is forced through a narrow gap into a large pool.
The Southwestern Appalachians are the Cumberland Plateau and its escarpments, a sandstone tableland covered in oak and mixed mesophytic forest and cut by deep gorges. Creeks pour off the plateau rim over sandstone caprock into gorges, creating many tall, dramatic falls.
Hamilton County holds 15 recorded waterfalls, and several are close by. Julia Falls, a 95-foot plunge waterfall, is under a mile away. Middle Creek Falls, is under a mile away. Laurel Falls, a 48-foot plunge waterfall, is about 5.9 miles away.
Rainbow Falls is located at 35.1271° N, 85.3656° 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.