Chinquapin Falls is a waterfall on Indian Creek in Mariposa County, California, in the Sierra Nevada region, with a total height of about 350 feet. It lies about 11 miles southwest of Yosemite Valley and roughly 47.2 miles northeast of Merced as the crow flies.
At 350 feet it stands in the tallest quarter of California’s 286 waterfalls with a recorded height, ranking 44th; the typical California waterfall is about 70 feet. The water comes down as a horsetail, where the water keeps some contact with the bedrock as it falls.
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. Indian Creek carries 3 recorded waterfalls, and Chinquapin Falls is the tallest of them.
There are 55 recorded waterfalls in Mariposa County. Avalanche Creek Falls, is about 1.5 miles away. Lower Foresta Falls, is about 1.7 miles away. Foresta Falls, a 120-foot tiered horsetail waterfall, is about 1.8 miles away.
Chinquapin Falls is located at 37.6670° N, 119.7558° 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.