The tallest waterfalls in the United States

Ranked by documented total height. Heights are drawn from public records and vary by measurement method — some figures count a single vertical drop, others a full cumulative cascade — so treat close rankings as approximate. 274 waterfalls have a documented height in this guide.

By Reese Calder, Field Guide Editor · Updated Jun 22, 2026

#	Waterfall	State	Height	Type	Access
1	Oloʻupena Falls	Hawaii	2,953 ft	Tiered	Backcountry
2	Waihilau Falls	Hawaii	2,600 ft	Horsetail	Backcountry
3	Yosemite Falls	California	2,425 ft	Tiered	Moderate hike
4	Kahiwa Falls	Hawaii	2,165 ft	Tiered	Backcountry
5	Horsetail Fall	California	1,570 ft	Horsetail	Short hike
6	Hiʻilawe Falls	Hawaii	1,450 ft	Plunge	Backcountry
7	Tokopah Falls	California	1,200 ft	Cascade	Moderate hike
8	Wapama Falls	California	1,080 ft	Horsetail	Moderate hike
9	Crabtree Falls	Virginia	1,000 ft	Cascade	Moderate hike
10	Waipoʻo Falls	Hawaii	800 ft	Tiered	Moderate hike
11	Amicalola Falls	Georgia	729 ft	Tiered	Short hike
12	Multnomah Falls	Oregon	620 ft	Tiered	Short hike
13	Bridalveil Fall	California	617 ft	Plunge	Short hike
14	Bridal Veil Falls	Utah	607 ft	Tiered	Roadside
15	Bridal Veil Falls	Alaska	600 ft	Tiered	Roadside
16	Nevada Fall	California	594 ft	Horsetail	Moderate hike
17	Bird Woman Falls	Montana	560 ft	Horsetail	Roadside
18	ʻAkaka Falls	Hawaii	442 ft	Plunge	Short hike
19	Whitewater Falls	North Carolina	411 ft	Tiered	Short hike
20	Upper Whitewater Falls	North Carolina	411 ft	Plunge	Short hike
21	Whitewater Falls (Upper)	North Carolina	411 ft	Cascade	Short hike
22	Feather Falls	California	410 ft	Plunge	Moderate hike
23	Waimoku Falls	Hawaii	400 ft	Plunge	Moderate hike
24	Mānāwaiopuna Falls (Jurassic Falls)	Hawaii	400 ft	Plunge	Backcountry
25	Raven Cliff Falls	South Carolina	400 ft	Tiered	Moderate hike
26	Manawaiopuna Falls (Jurassic Falls)	Hawaii	400 ft	Horsetail	Backcountry
27	Rainbow Falls	Washington	392 ft	Tiered	Roadside
28	Nugget Falls	Alaska	377 ft	Tiered	Short hike
29	Wallace Falls	Washington	367 ft	Tiered	Moderate hike
30	Wallace Falls (Middle Falls)	Washington	367 ft	Tiered	Moderate hike
31	Bridal Veil Falls	Colorado	365 ft	Plunge	Moderate hike
32	Spray Falls	Washington	354 ft	Fan	Moderate hike
33	Horsetail Falls	Alaska	328 ft	Horsetail	Roadside
34	Comet Falls	Washington	320 ft	Tiered	Moderate hike
35	Vernal Fall	California	317 ft	Block	Moderate hike
36	Lower Yellowstone Falls	Wyoming	308 ft	Plunge	Short hike
37	Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River	Wyoming	308 ft	Plunge	Short hike
38	Umauma Falls	Hawaii	300 ft	Tiered	Short hike
39	Hanakāpīʻai Falls	Hawaii	300 ft	Plunge	Backcountry
40	Salt Creek Falls	Oregon	286 ft	Plunge	Roadside
41	Box Canyon Falls	Colorado	285 ft	Plunge	Short hike
42	Fish Creek Falls	Colorado	283 ft	Plunge	Short hike
43	Watson Falls	Oregon	272 ft	Plunge	Short hike
44	Snoqualmie Falls	Washington	268 ft	Plunge	Roadside
45	Kaaterskill Falls	New York	260 ft	Tiered	Moderate hike
46	Fall Creek Falls	Tennessee	256 ft	Plunge	Short hike
47	Silver Cascade	New Hampshire	250 ft	Cascade	Roadside
48	Moaʻula Falls	Hawaii	250 ft	Tiered	Moderate hike
49	Step Falls	Maine	250 ft	Cascade	Short hike
50	Wahkeena Falls	Oregon	242 ft	Horsetail	Roadside
51	Proxy Falls	Oregon	226 ft	Horsetail	Short hike
52	Latourell Falls	Oregon	224 ft	Plunge	Short hike
53	Whiskeytown Falls	California	220 ft	Tiered	Moderate hike
54	Taughannock Falls	New York	215 ft	Plunge	Short hike
55	Shoshone Falls	Idaho	212 ft	Block	Roadside
56	Hemmed-In Hollow Falls	Arkansas	209 ft	Plunge	Backcountry
57	Hemmed-In-Hollow Falls	Arkansas	209 ft	Plunge	Backcountry
58	Mary Jane Falls	Nevada	200 ft	Horsetail	Moderate hike
59	Cullasaja Falls	North Carolina	200 ft	Cascade	Roadside
60	Lower Whitewater Falls	South Carolina	200 ft	Cascade	Moderate hike
61	Apple Orchard Falls	Virginia	200 ft	Cascade	Moderate hike
62	Makahiku Falls	Hawaii	200 ft	Horsetail	Short hike
63	Perrine Coulee Falls	Idaho	197 ft	Plunge	Short hike
64	Fairy Falls	Wyoming	197 ft	Plunge	Moderate hike
65	Grand Falls (Chocolate Falls)	Arizona	185 ft	Tiered	Short hike
66	Doane's Falls	Massachusetts	175 ft	Tiered	Short hike
67	Chittenango Falls	New York	167 ft	Cascade	Short hike
68	Buttermilk Falls	New York	165 ft	Cascade	Short hike
69	Buttermilk Falls (Ithaca)	New York	165 ft	Cascade	Moderate hike
70	Anna Ruby Falls	Georgia	153 ft	Segmented	Short hike
71	Linville Falls	North Carolina	150 ft	Tiered	Moderate hike
72	Sitting Bull Falls	New Mexico	150 ft	Plunge	Short hike
73	High Falls	North Carolina	150 ft	Cascade	Moderate hike
74	Mānoa Falls	Hawaii	150 ft	Plunge	Short hike
75	Franklin Falls	Washington	135 ft	Tiered	Short hike
76	Twin Falls	Washington	135 ft	Tiered	Short hike
77	Grace's High Falls	Alabama	133 ft	Horsetail	Roadside
78	Spokane Falls	Washington	130 ft	Cascade	Roadside
79	Burney Falls	California	129 ft	Fan	Short hike
80	Wahclella Falls	Oregon	127 ft	Tiered	Short hike
81	Twin Falls	Idaho	125 ft	Block	Roadside
82	Triple Falls	North Carolina	125 ft	Tiered	Short hike
83	Moss Glen Falls	Vermont	125 ft	Cascade	Short hike
84	Ramona Falls	Oregon	120 ft	Fan	Moderate hike
85	Shell Falls	Wyoming	120 ft	Cascade	Roadside
86	Bridal Veil Falls	North Carolina	120 ft	Cascade	Moderate hike
87	Mingo Falls	North Carolina	120 ft	Cascade	Short hike
88	Boulder River Falls (Feature Show Falls)	Washington	120 ft	Horsetail	Short hike
89	Lucifer Falls	New York	115 ft	Cascade	Moderate hike
90	Kings Bluff Falls	Arkansas	114 ft	Plunge	Short hike
91	Yahoo Falls	Kentucky	113 ft	Plunge	Short hike
92	Virgin Falls	Tennessee	110 ft	Plunge	Backcountry
93	Tamanawas Falls	Oregon	110 ft	Block	Short hike
94	Middle Falls of the Genesee River	New York	107 ft	Block	Roadside
95	Middle Falls (Letchworth)	New York	107 ft	Block	Roadside
96	Ramsey Cascades	Tennessee	105 ft	Cascade	Backcountry
97	DeSoto Falls	Alabama	104 ft	Plunge	Short hike
98	Rainbow Falls	California	101 ft	Plunge	Moderate hike
99	Hidden Falls	Wyoming	100 ft	Cascade	Short hike
100	Havasu Falls	Arizona	100 ft	Plunge	Backcountry

Looking for something closer to home? Browse waterfalls by state or by how hard they are to reach.

Heights are compiled from USGS records, the World Waterfall Database, NPS / USFS / state-park pages, and other cited sources on each waterfall’s page. See our methodology for how heights are chosen and why sources sometimes disagree.