Elk Falls is a 50-foot waterfall on Elk River in Avery County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge region. It lies about 5.6 miles east of Roan Mountain and roughly 22.8 miles east of Johnson City as the crow flies.
At 50 feet it is taller than the typical North Carolina waterfall of about 50 feet, ranking 136th of 288 with a recorded height. 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.
Avery County holds 19 recorded waterfalls, and several are close by. Jones Falls, a 100-foot tiered waterfall, is under a mile away across the state line in Tennessee. Upper Jones Falls, a 25-foot cascade waterfall, is under a mile away across the state line in Tennessee. Splash Dam Falls, a 25-foot tiered waterfall, is about 1 miles away across the state line in Tennessee.
Elk Falls is located at 36.1988° N, 81.9693° 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.