At 129 feet tall, it is powered by 100 million gallons of water per day. The two main cataracts are supplied by Burney Creek. Sheets of water streaming from the cliff face on either side of the main falls are seeping from between layers of ancient basaltic lava flows.

President Teddy Roosevelt was so taken with the beauty of Burney Falls that he is said to have dubbed it "the Eighth Wonder of the World."