Cascades, The is a waterfall on Cascade Creek in Mariposa County, California, in the Sierra Nevada region, with a total height of about 750 feet. It lies about 7.5 miles west of Yosemite Valley and roughly 51.4 miles northeast of Merced as the crow flies.
At 750 feet it stands in the tallest quarter of California’s 286 waterfalls with a recorded height, ranking 19th; the typical California waterfall is about 70 feet. The tallest single drop is 500 feet. The water comes down as a tiered waterfall, falling in several distinct steps one after another, combined with a plunge character. It falls in 5 drops.
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. Cascade Creek carries 9 recorded waterfalls, and Cascades, The is the tallest of them.
There are 55 recorded waterfalls in Mariposa County. Tamarack Falls, a 100-foot horsetail waterfall, is under a mile away. Wildcat Falls, a 700-foot tiered horsetail waterfall, is under a mile away. Fireplace Creek Falls, is about 1.7 miles away.
Cascades, The is located at 37.7274° N, 119.7132° 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.