Leatherwood Falls is a waterfall on Leatherwood Branch in Clay County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge region, with a total height of about 25 feet. It lies about 7.6 miles south of Andrews and roughly 59.8 miles south of Knoxville as the crow flies.
At 25 feet it is on the modest side for North Carolina, where the typical waterfall with a recorded height stands around 50 feet; it ranks 223rd of 288. The water comes down as a horsetail, where the water keeps some contact with the bedrock as it falls.
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.
There are 5 recorded waterfalls in Clay County. Bald Springs Falls, 100 feet high, is about 4.9 miles away. Cover Falls, is about 8.9 miles away. Kennedy Falls, is about 9 miles away.
Leatherwood Falls is located at 35.0963° N, 83.8591° 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.