Big Branch Cove Falls is a waterfall on Big Branch in Jackson County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge region, with a total height of about 40 feet. It lies about 9.2 miles southeast of Cullowhee and roughly 38 miles southwest of Asheville as the crow flies.
At 40 feet it is on the modest side for North Carolina, where the typical waterfall with a recorded height stands around 50 feet; it ranks 166th of 288. The water comes down as a cascade, descending over a series of rock steps rather than in a single drop.
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 79 recorded waterfalls in Jackson County. Robinson Creek Falls, a 30-foot cascade waterfall, is under a mile away. Sols Creek Falls, a 125-foot horsetail waterfall, is about 1.1 miles away. Flat Creek Falls, a 240-foot tiered waterfall, is about 1.2 miles away.
Big Branch Cove Falls is located at 35.2284° N, 83.0512° 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.