Cascadilla Falls

by NYFalls Upstate NY Nature

Title

Cascadilla Falls

Artist

NYFalls Upstate NY Nature

Medium

Photograph - Fine Art Photograph

Description

Cascadilla Gorge is a popular trail connecting the Cornell University campus to Collegetown, a district of Ithaca south of the campus. It is often used by students as a shortcut between the two. So widely used, it is often referred to as “the staircase,” both for the tumbling step-like cascades and for the grueling climb as you ascend the trail to campus.

The gorge drops over 400 feet from Cornell campus to downtown Ithaca, carving through layers of shale and sandstone. There are multiple waterfalls here with six sizable ones. As you make your way up the trail, each cascade seems to roar louder than the next. The many overhangs and soft shale cliffs pose a slight danger as large stones fall often in spring, with small stones falling every few minutes. The small crackles and pops you’ll hear when deep in the gorge are a constant reminder that it is ever-changing. Often massive rock slides will destroy portions of the trail, forcing closure for repairs. Usually this happens in the winter as water seeps into the cracks in the rocks, freezes and expands, prying apart the stone. For several years large portions of the gorge were closed down for repairs.

For more information on Cascadilla Gorge, visit https://nyfalls.com/waterfalls/cascadilla-gorge/

Uploaded

April 27th, 2020

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