Ithaca Falls
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Ithaca Falls is a waterfall in New York, at a modelled elevation of 131 m. Virgil Mountain stands 643 m to the east, 18 miles off. The nearest named place is Ithaca Falls Natural Area, a park 0.1 miles away. Cayuga Lake Scenic Byway passes 0.5 miles off.
The story
Ithaca Falls is a waterfall located within the city of Ithaca, New York. It is the last of a series of waterfalls along the hanging valley formed where Fall Creek intersects the glacial trough of Cayuga Lake. The falls are in an amphitheater formed by freezing and thawing of the weak shale which makes up most of the gorge walls. The splash pool, and the creek just below the falls, are a popular spot for fly fishing. It has a height of 150 feet (46 m) and a width 175 feet (53 m) The area around the base of the falls was owned by Cornell University for many years, before being sold to the City of Ithaca in 2000 as a part of environmental cleanup. The area has been a popular, if dilapidated, park for many years; in 2015 it was scheduled to undergo a major redesign and rebuild. In June 2016, the Ithaca Common Council voted to demolish a house directly north of the falls and add the parcel to the park. The city had acquired the house after the owner failed to pay property taxes. The falls is present as the stylized "I" in the official "Ithaca is Gorges" logo.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q16909460, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
How to reach it
- 0.5 mi off the Cayuga Lake Scenic Byway
- 13.3 mi off the Scenic Route 90
Overlooks nearby
- Fuertes Swan Pond Overlook · 1 mi
- Taughannock Falls Overlook · 8 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Ithaca Falls Natural Area: 0.1 mi
- Sunset Park: 0.4 mi
- Auburn Park: 0.5 mi
- Peter Plaza: 0.6 mi
- Thompson Park: 0.6 mi
- Comstock Knoll: 1.0 mi
- Hungerford Hill: 2.8 mi
- Turkey Hill: 3.6 mi
- Bean Hill: 4.6 mi
- Snyder Hill: 5.2 mi
- Cascadilla Gorge: 0.7 mi
- Pine Tree Wildlife Preserve: 2.3 mi
- South Hill Natural Area West: 2.5 mi
- Reynolds Game Farm: 2.5 mi
- East Ithaca Nature Preserve: 2.6 mi
- Horseshoe Falls: 0.3 mi
- Rocky Falls: 0.4 mi
- Triphammer Falls: 0.6 mi
- Potter's Falls: 2.8 mi
- Buttermilk Falls: 2.9 mi
- The Overlook At West Hill (housing for the elderly): 2.6 mi
- Turn here for fresh eggs farm stand: 4.0 mi
- Stick And Stone Farm and CSA: 4.9 mi
- Incodema: 4.9 mi
- Rt 96 Self Storage: 5.5 mi
- Sciencenter: 0.7 mi
- Tompkins Center for History & Culture: 0.9 mi
- Museum of the Earth: 2.4 mi
- Cayuga Nature Center: 5.6 mi
- Field School House: 5.9 mi
- Alpha Phi Alpha memorial garden: 0.6 mi
- Farrand Garden: 0.6 mi
- Rockwell Azalea Garden: 0.7 mi
- Deans Garden: 0.8 mi
- Minn's Garden: 0.8 mi
- Monument of Ezra Cornell: 0.4 mi
- Andrew Dickson White Statue: 0.5 mi
- Bob Baker BBQ Pavilion: 5.9 mi
- Peter Wheeler historic marker: 7.4 mi
- Birthplace of John D Rockefeller: 16.9 mi
- Pinnacle Rock: 3.2 mi
- Point O'Rocks: 11.6 mi
- Glen Cathedral: 20.6 mi
- Castle Point: 23.3 mi
- Der deutsche Strand: 3.8 mi
- Glenwood Beach: 24.7 mi
- Black Lives Matter: 1.1 mi
- Tamarack Spring: 10.0 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 18.9 miles of Ithaca Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virgil Mountain | E 81° | 643 m | 18.2 mi |
| Connecticut Hill | WSW 243° | 638 m | 10.1 mi |
| Greek Peak | E 80° | 637 m | 17.7 mi |
| South Hill | E 79° | 635 m | 17.6 mi |
| Star Stanton Hill | E 93° | 612 m | 10.5 mi |
| Irish Hill | SW 214° | 599 m | 15.0 mi |
| Hammond Hill | E 97° | 598 m | 10.1 mi |
| Doll Hill | SW 226° | 596 m | 10.9 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:10 | 18:41 | 19:18 |
| June solstice | 05:30 | 20:05 | 20:47 |
| September equinox | 06:54 | 18:28 | 19:05 |
| December solstice | 07:33 | 15:51 | 16:37 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 23 | 24 | 31 | 44 | 56 | 65 | 69 | 67 | 60 | 49 | 39 | 29 |
| Precip in | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 2.6 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Ithaca Cornell Univ, 2 mi away.
Months at or above the year’s average flow: Dec–May — fullest in Mar, leanest in Aug.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean cfs | 205 | 218 | 404 | 397 | 209 | 122 | 81.1 | 60.1 | 68.8 | 110 | 178 | 221 |
USGS monthly mean discharge at gauge Fall Creek Near Ithaca NY, 1 mi away — the nearest gauge, which can sit on a different stream.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/1236639324
Day trips start here
- Ithaca · 1 mi
- Trumansburg · 11 mi
- Eastern Finger Lakes · 15 mi
- Cortland · 19 mi
- Watkins Glen · 20 mi
Take the scenic way to Ithaca Falls.
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