California Creek Falls is a waterfall on California Creek in Unicoi County, Tennessee, in the Blue Ridge region, with a total height of about 25 feet. It lies about 1.5 miles northwest of Banner Hill and roughly 12.7 miles southwest of Johnson City as the crow flies.
At 25 feet it is on the modest side for Tennessee, where the typical waterfall with a recorded height stands around 30 feet; it ranks 171st of 332. The tallest single drop is 15 feet. 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. California Creek carries 2 recorded waterfalls; the biggest of them reaches 40 feet.
There are 20 recorded waterfalls in Unicoi County. Cody Falls, a 40-foot cascade waterfall, is under a mile away. Millstone Creek Falls, a 30-foot fan waterfall, is about 3.1 miles away. East Simmons Branch Falls, a 15-foot horsetail waterfall, is about 3.5 miles away.
California Creek Falls is located at 36.1450° N, 82.4440° 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.