Tenaya Falls is an 88-foot waterfall on Tenaya Creek in Mariposa County, California, in the Sierra Nevada region. It lies about 3 miles northeast of Yosemite Valley and roughly 61.1 miles northeast of Merced as the crow flies.
At 88 feet it is taller than the typical California waterfall of about 70 feet, ranking 118th of 286 with a recorded height. By form it is a segmented waterfall, splitting into two or more separate streams as it falls, combined with a plunge character.
The Sierra Nevada is a long granite range with glacially carved canyons, alpine meadows and forests of ponderosa and Jeffrey pine, incense cedar and giant sequoia. Snowmelt-fed rivers pour over polished granite steps and cliffs, especially in spring and early summer. Tenaya Creek carries 6 recorded waterfalls; the biggest of them reaches 660 feet.
Mariposa County holds 55 recorded waterfalls, and several are close by. Snow Creek Falls, a 600-foot tiered horsetail waterfall, is under a mile away. Upper Snow Creek Falls, 750 feet high, is under a mile away. Vernal Fall, a 317-foot curtain waterfall, is about 2.4 miles away.
Tenaya Falls is located at 37.7603° N, 119.5284° 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.