High Falls is a 55-foot waterfall on Thompson River in Transylvania County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge region. It lies about 18.5 miles southwest of Brevard and roughly 37.2 miles northwest of Greenville as the crow flies.
At 55 feet it is taller than the typical North Carolina waterfall of about 50 feet, ranking 130th of 288 with a recorded height. By form it is a slide, where the water glides down a smooth, inclined rock surface.
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. Thompson River carries 9 recorded waterfalls; the biggest of them reaches 640 feet.
Transylvania County holds 133 recorded waterfalls, and several are close by. Tumblin’ Fun Falls, a 185-foot tiered waterfall, is under a mile away. Reid Branch Falls, an 18-foot segmented waterfall, is under a mile away. White Owl Falls, a 16-foot cascade waterfall, is under a mile away.
High Falls is located at 35.0703° N, 82.9945° 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.