{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Use American English|date=February 2026}} {{Referenced|date=May 2019}} {{Infobox waterfall | image = Phantom Falls.jpg | caption=Phantom Falls after spring rain, 2017 | location = North Table Mountain (Butte County, California) | map = USA California |relief=1 | coordinates = {{coord|39.61041|N|121.56063|W|type:waterbody_region:US-CA_scale:50000|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | height = {{convert|130|ft|abbr=on}} | type = Plunge }}
'''Phantom Falls''' or '''Coal Canyon Falls''' is a waterfall at Coal Canyon near Oroville, California, within the North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve. The waterfall is {{convert|166|ft}} high<ref name=West>http://www.waterfallswest.com/waterfall.php?id=205 Phantom Falls entry on ''Waterfalls West''</ref> and runs off the edge of Coal Canyon, in front of a grotto.{{Citation needed|reason=No information given on grotto on either external link|date=May 2019}} A small pool at the bottom is home to a California newt subspecies, the Coastal Range newt.{{Citation needed|reason=|date=May 2019}} As a seasonal waterfall, Phantom Falls runs only during the rainy months, late autumn to early spring. It is named Phantom Falls because it disappears during the dry season.<ref name=West></ref>
There is no trail to the waterfall, although a parking lot on Cherokee Road provides access for hikers.<ref name=Chico>http://www.chicohiking.org/ValleyFoothill/Phantom-Falls.htm Phantom Falls entry on ''Chico Hiking'', includes a map of the area</ref> It is about {{convert|2|mi}} from the parking lot to the waterfall, which is visible from the rim of Coal Canyon.<ref name=Chico></ref> A strenuous downhill hike then ends at the bottom of the waterfall. The falls can also be reached from Coal Canyon Road at the bottom of Coal Canyon, a hike of about the same distance but longer and more strenuous, over rocky terrain.
The shaft of an abandoned gold mine in the grotto behind the falls dates to the California Gold Rush.<ref name=Chico></ref> Today, there is no gold there, but research still takes place in the mineshaft.{{Citation needed|reason=|date=May 2019}} Entering the mineshaft is difficult but not prohibited.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hiking |title=Phantom Falls {{!}} Explore Experience |url=https://www.exploreexperience.com/phantom-falls/ |access-date=2022-08-22 |language=en-US}}</ref>
==See also== * List of waterfalls * List of waterfalls in California
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
Category:Landforms of Butte County, California Category:Waterfalls of California