Falling Water River - Geology

Geology

The river flows primarily across the Eastern Highland Rim, a region of rolling terrain underlain by limestone strata and dissected by deep erosional valleys. Downstream from Burgess Falls Dam, the river enters a gorge underlain by silicious Mississippian limestone that contains nodules of mineral quartz, making it resistant to erosion, allowing the development of the gorge's three waterfalls. At Burgess Falls, the river spills from an overhang of the resistant Mississippian rock to a plungepool underlain by older Ordovician rock. A belt of Devonian-era shale divides the Mississippian and Ordovician formations.

Window Cliff, a formation that includes several natural arches overlooking a waterfall, lies along a bend of Cane Creek just upstream from its confluence with the Falling Water River. Fancher Falls, an 80-foot (24 m) waterfall, is located along Taylor Creek, near its confluence with the Falling Water River.