Attractions as impressive as waterfalls are rare. Of course, people have long since learned to create them artificially, but still, the creations of human hands are not able to compete with what was created by nature itself. The most famous and beautiful waterfalls serve as places of real pilgrimage for tourists from all over the world, eager to see this unforgettable sight with their own eyes.
Interesting facts about waterfalls
- As the flow of water constantly erodes and destroys the ledge from which it falls, all powerful waterfalls gradually move up the river channel.
- The highest waterfall in the world is located in Venezuela, Angel. Its waters fall down from a height of 1054 meters, and the height of a continuous fall reaches 807 meters.
- The world famous Niagara Falls is not very high – only 53 meters, but about 5700 cubic meters of water passes through it per second. This is the most powerful waterfall in all of North America (interesting facts about North America).
- The name of the aforementioned Angel Falls is translated from Spanish as «angel». At the same time, it falls from Mount Auyantepui, which is translated from the local Indian dialect as «mountain of the devil».
- The noise of the Niagara Falls can be heard during the day for 2 kilometers, and at night for 6-7 kilometers.
- The widest complex of waterfalls in the world is called Khon. It is located in Laos, and reaches a width of 10 kilometers.
- Waterfalls are also underwater, no matter how strange it may sound. They are formed when layers of water of different density and salinity meet near seamounts. Only 7 such underwater waterfalls are now known.
- African Victoria Falls, 120 meters high and 1.8 kilometers wide, is the only one in the world that has a height of over 100 meters and a width of more than a kilometer.
- Niagara Falls annually shifts by 80-90 centimeters due to the destruction of the rock mass, and during its existence it has moved about 10 kilometers. At this rate, it will disappear in about 20,000 years.
- 14 of the highest European waterfalls are in Norway, and 3 of them are in the top 10 highest waterfalls in the world.
- In Antarctica there is a bloody waterfall. The water in it is reddish in color, as it is saturated with iron oxide. It flows out of a lake covered with several hundred meters of eternal ice.
- Some species of birds during migration are guided, among other things, by the noise of waterfalls, if any, on their way.
- Scientists in total There are 17 different types of waterfalls.
- The Iguazu Falls complex, which is on the border of Argentina and Brazil, is the most powerful in the world. It consists of 275 individual waterfalls, and about 2 million people visit this place every year (interesting facts about Brazil).
- In 1978, the Iguazu Falls completely dried up due to a long lack of rain.
- The highest man-made waterfall, Cascata delle Marmore, was created by the Romans. Its height reaches 165 meters.