Upper Kiesee Falls is a waterfall on Kiesee Creek in Transylvania County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge region, with a total height of about 16 feet. It lies about 9 miles west of Brevard and roughly 29.1 miles southwest of Asheville as the crow flies.
At 16 feet it is on the modest side for North Carolina, where the typical waterfall with a recorded height stands around 50 feet; it ranks 260th of 288. The water comes down as a tiered waterfall, falling in several distinct steps one after another.
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. Kiesee Creek carries 2 recorded waterfalls, and Upper Kiesee Falls is the tallest of them.
There are 133 recorded waterfalls in Transylvania County. Kiesee Falls, a 16-foot tiered waterfall, is under a mile away. Chestnut Falls, a 20-foot horsetail waterfall, is under a mile away. Coon Dog Falls, a 40-foot horsetail waterfall, is under a mile away.
Upper Kiesee Falls is located at 35.2772° N, 82.8836° 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.