Cumberland Falls, sometimes called the Little Niagara, the Niagara of the South, or the Great Falls, is a large waterfall on the Cumberland River in southeastern Kentucky. Spanning the river at the border of McCreary and Whitley counties, the waterfall is the central feature of Cumberland Falls State Resort Park.
On average the falls, which flow over a resistant sandstone bed, are 68 feet (21 m) high and 125 feet (38 m) wide, with an average water flow of 3,600 cubic feet per second (100 m³/s).
Under a full moon on clear nights, an elusive lunar rainbow or moonbow is sometimes formed by the mist emanating from the falls.
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History
Long known to Native Americans of the area, Cumberland Falls received its name from Zachary Green, whose party discovered it during an expedition in 1770. From the 1860s to the 1930s, Cumberland Falls and the surrounding land were privately held. The Moonbow Inn, a popular hotel dating to around 1875, was perched on a ledge overlooking the falls.
The area was a favorite vacation destination for T. Coleman du Pont, a Kentucky native and U.S. Senator from Delaware. Disturbed by plans to build a hydroelectric dam at the site, Louisville Times editor and conservationist Tom Wallace spearheaded a campaign to save the falls. In 1930, Wallace and other conservationists persuaded DuPont to purchase and donate 600 acres (2.4 km²) surrounding the falls to Kentucky, urging the commonwealth to set aside the property as a state park. Despite DuPont's death later that year, additional land was purchased, and in 1933 the state legislature designated the property as Kentucky's third state park. Much of the early work at the park, including construction of DuPont Lodge and cabins for guests, was undertaken during the Great Depression by Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration employees.
With a reported 700,000 to 1 million visitors per year, the park remains one of Kentucky's busiest and most profitable state parks.
There are currently plans to build a golf course nearby as part of the state resort park.
Popular culture
The falls have appeared in three films:
- The Kentuckian (1955)
- Raintree County (1957)
- Fire Down Below (1997) (appears in a flyover)
Further reading
- Caudill, Harry, "Night Comes to the Cumberlands", 1962. ISBN 0-316-13212-8
- Huffman, Noah, "Hanging the Moonbow: Tom Wallace and the Cumberland Falls Fight, 1926-1931", 2005.
External links
- Kentucky tourism site
- Kentucky state parks information page
- Cumberland and Other Kentucky Waterfalls
Coordinates: 36°50′17″N 84°20′40″W / 36.83801°N 84.34444°W
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