Root Falls is a waterfall in Scott County, Tennessee, in the Southwestern Appalachians region, with a total height of about 8 feet. It lies about 8.7 miles west of Oneida and roughly 56.9 miles northwest of Knoxville as the crow flies.
At 8 feet it is on the modest side for Tennessee, where the typical waterfall with a recorded height stands around 30 feet; it ranks 311th of 332. The water comes down as a plunge, where the water drops vertically and loses contact with the rock face.
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.
There are 18 recorded waterfalls in Scott County. Joy Falls, a 70-foot fan waterfall, is under a mile away. Fall Branch Falls, a 10-foot block waterfall, is about 2.5 miles away. Step Falls, a 30-foot plunge waterfall, is about 2.6 miles away.
Root Falls is located at 36.5254° N, 84.6650° 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.