Ephemeral Waterfalls in the United States
14 ephemeral waterfalls across the United States. Flows only after rain or snowmelt and is dry much of the year. All waterfalls.
Browse by state 47
- Alabama 97
- Arizona 66
- Arkansas 280
- California 1,039
- Colorado 345
- Connecticut 79
- Florida 3
- Georgia 298
- Idaho 249
- Illinois 20
- Indiana 24
- Iowa 8
- Kansas 24
- Kentucky 65
- Louisiana 6
- Maine 175
- Maryland 13
- Massachusetts 37
- Michigan 294
- Minnesota 43
- Mississippi 8
- Missouri 11
- Montana 252
- Nebraska 14
- Nevada 25
- New Hampshire 264
- New Jersey 5
- New Mexico 20
- New York 879
- North Carolina 495
- North Dakota 1
- Ohio 26
- Oklahoma 30
- Oregon 1,342
- Pennsylvania 274
- Rhode Island 5
- South Carolina 22
- South Dakota 10
- Tennessee 427
- Texas 71
- Utah 76
- Vermont 229
- Virginia 127
- Washington 2,596
- West Virginia 13
- Wisconsin 83
- Wyoming 267
- 2 mi from Yosemite Valley
- Tallest drop 50 ft
- 5 mi from Nunda
- 19 mi from Weaverville
What is an ephemeral waterfall?
An ephemeral waterfall runs only after heavy rain or during snowmelt and is dry, or reduced to a damp streak on the rock, for most of the year. Some are large when they flow: Yosemite's valley walls carry a dozen ephemeral falls each spring that do not appear on any summer map. The catalogue lists 14 falls the survey marks as ephemeral, in New York, California and a few other states, though many more entries under other types behave the same way. Because the flow is short-lived, heights are often estimates and photos are rare. If you want to see one, go within a day or two of a storm or in the peak of snowmelt, and read the reviews for the dates when other visitors found water.
Tallest ephemeral waterfalls
- Columbia Cascade1,550 ftMariposa County, California
- Sinawava Falls750 ftWashington County, Utah
- Fissure Falls400 ftMariposa County, California
- Eldest Stepsister Cascade330 ftWyoming County, New York
- Stepmother Cascade330 ftWyoming County, New York