Linville Falls
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Linville Falls, Oct. 2006 |
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| Location: | Blue Ridge Mountains, Burke County, North Carolina |
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| Type: | Tiered |
| Total height: | 150 ft., 46 m. |
| Number of drops: | 4 |
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Linville Falls is a waterfall located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina in the United States. The falls move in several distinct steps, beginning in a twin set of upper falls, moving down a small gorge, and finally culminating in a high-volume 45-foot drop. It is named for the Linville River, which goes over the falls. Linville Falls has the highest volume of any waterfall on the Northern Edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains[1].
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[edit] Natural History
Linville Falls marks the beginning of the Linville Gorge, which is formed by the Linville River, which continues on after the falls before finally ending near Lake James.
[edit] History
According to personnel at Linville Falls, the falls was used by local Native Americans to execute prisoners. No one is known to have survived a fall over the final plunge.
At one time, the upper section of the main plunge was the same height as the lower section, however, flooding caused the upper section to collapse on top of the lower falls, making the lower falls a considerably longer plunge.
[edit] Visiting the Falls
The falls is owned by the National Park Service, which operates a visitor center and several miles of non-handicapped accessible trails with 4 overlooks for the falls. The 0.5 mile Upper Falls trail leads to the top of the falls, where visitors can see the small twin upper falls and the water spiraling through a small canyon on its way to the main falls. The Erwin's View trail leads to 2 overlooks, the Chimney View overlook (0.7 miles) and the Erwin's View overlook (0.8 miles). Finally, the 1.4 mile Plunge Basin Trail leads to an area near the foot of the falls. Swimming is prohibited at all areas of Linville Falls, as many deaths have occurred.
[edit] Nearby Falls
Duggars Creek Falls is located in the Linville Falls National Recreation Area. To get to it, head towards the paved parking lot from the visitors center and head for the back right corner. Follow the short Duggars Creek Falls trail. The small falls is located on the right.
