Parsons Falls is a waterfall in Cayuga County, New York, in the Northern Allegheny Plateau region, with a total height of about 140 feet. It lies about 1.7 miles northwest of Moravia and roughly 27.2 miles southwest of Syracuse as the crow flies.
At 140 feet it stands in the tallest quarter of New York’s 184 waterfalls with a recorded height, ranking 26th; the typical New York waterfall is about 50.5 feet. The water comes down as a horsetail, where the water keeps some contact with the bedrock as it falls.
The Northern Allegheny Plateau is a dissected upland of rolling hills and deep valleys in New York and Pennsylvania, with northern hardwood forest and dairy farms. Creeks cut through layered shale and sandstone in gorges lined with waterfalls, as in the Finger Lakes glens.
There are 18 recorded waterfalls in Cayuga County. Lower Parsons Falls, is under a mile away. Owasco Hill Creek Falls, is under a mile away. Punch Bowl Falls, is about 2.2 miles away.
Parsons Falls is located at 42.7230° N, 76.4514° 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 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.