On this website, we indicate the name of a waterfall or rapid as being in one of three categories:

• Official ... to be officially named, a waterfall or rapid has to be recognized and registered with the United States Geological Survey.  The USGS, which is a part of the US Department of the Interior, is responsible for the official naming of geographic locations in our nation.  Things like towns, cities, mountains, rivers, rapids and waterfalls are listed on the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).  The GNIS is a database of all things officially named.
• Common ... in the big picture, most waterfalls are not included in the GNIS database.  Many waterfalls that are not on this list do have a common name that is used, perhaps by those local to that area or perhaps on a wider base.  These waterfalls may be named after a person, a family, a location, or any number of things and over time, have come to be known by this name.
• Unnamed ... By far, most waterfalls do not have a name, either by official standards or common reference.  In these cases, we have taken the liberty to give them a name, usually based on the waterway they are on, to facilitate cataloging them.

We will also used the term "Charted" ... a number of waterfalls throughout the north country somehow got pin-pointed on the USGS topographical maps without a name.  They are simply noted as "Falls".  We know of instances where these have common names, but many are unnamed.

The following is a list of all waterfalls and rapids in the Northern New York region that are listed on the GNIS database.  A notation of CL with the name of the waterfall indicates that it is on a county line and is listed in both counties.  Also, the latitude and longitude readings are given in ddmmss format, as they are listed on the GNIS database.  The USGS GNIS search page can be accessed at https://geonames.usgs.gov/apex/f?p=138:1:0::NO::P1_COUNTY%2CP1_COUNTY_ALONG:n%2C.  To use this form, click on the box for "State" and scroll down to New York.  Once you click on this it may take a second or two but the "County" box will expand.  Scroll down to the county you wish to view.  Next, in the "Feature Class" box, scroll down and click on "Falls".  Then click the "Send Query" button and you will be sent to a list of all officially named waterfalls in that county.

We have a complete explanation of our Waterfalls Naming Project here.