Umbrella Falls is a 20-foot waterfall on Horsepasture River in Transylvania County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge region. It lies about 16.3 miles southwest of Brevard and roughly 36.4 miles northwest of Greenville as the crow flies.
At 20 feet it is on the modest side for North Carolina, where the typical waterfall with a recorded height stands around 50 feet; it ranks 242nd of 288. By form it is a block waterfall, wider than it is tall, spilling over a broad ledge.
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. Horsepasture River carries 6 recorded waterfalls; the biggest of them reaches 320 feet.
Transylvania County holds 133 recorded waterfalls, and several are close by. Rainbow Falls, a 128-foot fan waterfall, is under a mile away. Bust Your Butt Falls, a 35-foot slide waterfall, is under a mile away. Staircase Falls, a 70-foot tiered waterfall, is under a mile away.
Umbrella Falls is located at 35.0925° N, 82.9661° 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 position was verified on aerial imagery. Details on trails, parking and access have not been documented for this waterfall yet.