Taughannock Falls is the tallest single-drop waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains. With a drop of 215 feet, it is 33 feet taller than Niagra Falls! That isn’t very obvious in this picture though, however imagine that someone was standing at the wall of the viewing area in the bottom right. That wall is probably about three feet tall.

The fall colors still had a ways to go until peak when I visited the park in October, but there was still enough to nicely frame the falls from the overlook along the park road. Not much water was flowing in Taughannock Creek, but I think with less flow the falls tend to look a bit more graceful. Of course the best time to photograph the falls would be in a nice light rain, but with clear skies in the forecast, I got up early one morning and was out at the overlook before sunrise. This shot was taken just before the sun broke over the cliffs to the southeast.

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