Cathedral Falls is a waterfall on Linville River in Burke County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge region. It lies about 9.3 miles east of Spruce Pine and roughly 38.3 miles southeast of Johnson City as the crow flies.
Its height has not been recorded in the source data. By form it is a plunge, where the water drops vertically and loses contact with the rock face.
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. Linville River carries 3 recorded waterfalls along its course.
Burke County holds 14 recorded waterfalls, and several are close by. Cave Falls, a segmented waterfall, is about 1.1 miles away. Steels Creek Falls, a 70-foot tiered waterfall, is about 3.3 miles away. Middle Steels Creek Falls, a 120-foot tiered waterfall, is about 3.5 miles away.
Cathedral Falls is located at 35.8982° N, 81.9000° 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.