Last week, Bill Street and I visited an area of Alleghany County that more people should know about. The waterfall shown above, Falling Spring Falls, is of both ecological and historical significance.
According to signs at the site provided by the Virginia Division of State Parks, the stream that flows over the falls begins in Warm River Cave, north of this point. Warm thermal spring water mixes with a seperate stream of cold groundwater in the cave. The water is supersaturated with carbonate and creates formations of limestone, like those at the base of the falls. Below the Falls, in areas where rocks are continuously moistened by spray and water splashing, a unique community of organisms, including moss and bryophyte species survives in an environment considered to be rare in Virginia.
Historical features of the site include a visit to by Thomas Jefferson to survey the falls and a mention in Jefferson's 1781, Notes on the State of Virginia. Electrical power was first generated when the force of water from the Falls was harnessed by piping it about a mile down the valley to a power plant. This plant has recently been re-opened and is again generating electicity.
Falling Springs Run eventually feeds the Jackson River after winding its way down through a narrow valley. The picture below shows the stream just above where the streams join.
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