These strange, stunning waterfalls outside Caryville, Tennessee look unlike any others in the state—and that’s because they are. This is Little Egypt.
Odd sights lead to the falls. The first is a large box culvert diverting the entirety of Bruce Creek under the base of Cumberland Mountain. Above, a strange, temple-like gathering area full of boulders, graffiti, and the remnants of countless bonfires sits carved out of the mountainside.
Feeding into the culvert is a gorgeous stream, an odd mix of Tennessee’s famous scenic beauty and carved cliffside, with the first of several small waterfalls capping it off. Yet none of these are the main attraction.
That would be Triple Falls, or Bruce Creek Falls, named after the stream that feeds it. Triple Falls Trail leads alongside this mid-sized, multi-tiered waterfall, granting gorgeous views as water drops dozens of feet down into crystal clear pools. And it is all man-made.
Triple Falls…Bruce Creek Falls.. Little Egypt
Known locally as Little Egypt, this entire area—culvert, waterfalls and all—is the result of the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s effort to redirect Bruce Creek in the 1980s. Before its re-channeling, the power of Bruce Creek would often flood the bottom of Cumberland Mountain. This greatly threatened the integrity of Interstate 75 that runs just above.
The three-tiered Triple Falls was carved into the mountainside to calm Bruce Creek’s current. Sharp eyes can spot the holes and scars made by TDOT workers as they blasted an artificial sandstone box canyon into existence some 50-years-ago.
“It has healed up pretty well,” says Harry Moore, author and retired TDOT geologist. “This trail we’re on is actually the old creek channel,” he adds of Triple Falls Trail. We moved everything over about 40 feet away from the interstate.”
Moore worked the TDOT project responsible for re-channeling Bruce Creek and creating Triple Falls (SOURCE).
CLICK HERE for Google Maps directions to Little Egypt.
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