Otter Falls is a waterfall on Falls Branch in Franklin County, Tennessee, in the Southwestern Appalachians region, with a total height of about 10 feet. It lies about 2.8 miles east of Sewanee and roughly 33.5 miles west of Chattanooga as the crow flies.
At 10 feet it is on the modest side for Tennessee, where the typical waterfall with a recorded height stands around 30 feet; it ranks 279th of 332. The water comes down as a punchbowl, where the water is forced through a narrow gap into a large pool.
The Southwestern Appalachians are the Cumberland Plateau and its escarpments, a sandstone tableland covered in oak and mixed mesophytic forest and cut by deep gorges. Creeks pour off the plateau rim over sandstone caprock into gorges, creating many tall, dramatic falls. Falls Branch carries 5 recorded waterfalls; the biggest of them reaches 55 feet.
There are 12 recorded waterfalls in Franklin County. Cascade Falls, a 70-foot cascade waterfall, is about 2.3 miles away. Pennington Falls, 20 feet high, is about 2.4 miles away. Falls Branch Falls, a 15-foot tiered waterfall, is about 3 miles away.
Otter Falls is located at 35.2030° N, 85.8712° 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.