American Guide: New York: a guide to the Empire state - Taughannock Falls - Trumansburg, NY

American Guide Series

Taughannock Falls

Trumansburg, NY

N 42° 32.225 W 076° 36.559

Short Description: 

Taughannock Falls is located in Taughannock State Park at 1740 Taughannock Blvd., Route 89, Trumansburg, NY

Long Description:

Tour 30

Rochester—Manchester—Waterloo—Ithaca—Owego; page 663

Section b. WATERLOO to OWEGO; 74.3 m.; page 665
At 33.5 m. is the official entrance to TAUGHANNOCK STATE PARK (camping, picnicking, bathing, baseball, bowling), comprising 400 acres with a long lake front. Taughannock Falls, more than a mile from the entrance, have a drop of 215 feet, 50 feet higher than Niagara. Except in the spring the volume of falling water is small, but the fall captivates by its quietness and by the dense spray which, rising from the bottom of the gorge, shrouds the lower half of the cliff in mist."

---New York : a guide to the Empire state. page 666; copyright 1940

Taughannock Falls plunges 215 feet over the rocky cliffs that rise to 400 feet above a gorge cut by the flowing water. You can view the waterfall from below or above. A 0.75 mile hike over easy terrain along a wide. well maintained, trail that follows the stream at the bottom of the gorge takes you to the bottom view of the waterfall. A paved highway a short distance north of the entrance to the park will take you to a parking area with a viewing area to view the waterfall from above.

At 215 feet, Taughannock Falls is the tallest single-drop waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains. The waterfall erodes the surrounding rock to create a hanging valley with a large amphitheater and basin downstream from the falls. The cliff over which the water falls is made of softer shale on the lower part and harder sandstone on the upper part. Water erodes the softer shale faster than the harder sandstone creating an overhanging cliff.