World's Amazing Waterfalls

A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff. Waterfalls normally form in a rocky area due to erosion.

Waterfalls can occur along the edge of a glacial trough, whereby a stream or river flowing into a glacier continues to flow into a valley after the glacier has receded or melted. The large waterfalls in Yosemite Valley are examples of this phenomenon. The rivers are flowing from hanging valleys.

Waterfalls are grouped into ten broad classes based on the average volume of water present on the fall - Class 10 being high volume and Class 1 being low volume. Here are some examples of classes of waterfalls:

- Class 10: Niagara Falls
- Class 9 : Victoria Falls
- Class 8 : Sutherland Falls
- Class 7 : Angel Falls
- Class 6 : Yosemite Falls

Angel Falls (indigenous name: Parakupa-vena or Kerepakupai merú, which means the fall from the highest point, in Pemon language) is the world's highest waterfall, with a height of 979m (3,212ft) and a clear drop of 807m (2,647ft).

It is located in the Canaima National Park, in the Gran Sabana region of Bolivar State, Venezuela. The height of the falls is so great that before getting anywhere near the ground, the water is atomized by the strong winds and turned into mist. The mist can be felt a mile away.

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Angel Falls is one of Venezuela's top tourist attractions, but even today a trip to the falls is not a simple affair. The falls are located in an isolated jungle region of Venezuela, and a flight from Caracas or Ciudad Bolívar is required to reach Canaima camp, the starting point for river trips to the base of the falls.

It is also possible to purchase a package that includes an aerial flyby of the falls. The falls cannot be seen on cloudy days, and there is no guarantee visitors will see them.

Iguazu Falls are waterfalls of the Iguazu River located on the border of the Brazilian state of Paraná and the Argentine province of Misiones. The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu.

Their name comes from the Guarani or Tupi words "water" and "big". Legend has it that a god planned to marry a beautiful aborigine named Naipí, who fled with her mortal lover Tarobá in a canoe. In rage, the god sliced the river creating the waterfalls, condemning the lovers to an eternal fall.

Iguazu is also often compared with Southern Africa's Victoria Falls which separates Zambia and Zimbabwe. Whilst Iguazu is wider, Victoria is the largest curtain of water in the world, at over 1,600 m (5,249 ft) wide and over 100 m (328 ft) in height.

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Iguazu affords excellent views and walkways and its shape allows for spectacular vistas. At one point a person can stand and be surrounded by 260 degrees of waterfalls.

Because Iguazu is split into many relatively small falls, one can view these a portion at a time. Victoria does not allow this, as it is essentially one waterfall that falls into a canyon and is too immense to appreciate at once (except from the air).

Kaieteur Falls is a magnificent, high-volume waterfall on the Potaro River in central Guyana. It is located in Kaieteur National Park. It is 226 meters (741 ft) when measured from its plunge over a sandstone cliff to the first break. It then flows over a series of steep cascades that, when included in the measurements, bring the total height to 251 meters (822 ft).

While many falls have greater height, few have the combination of height and water volume. This has given Kaieteur Falls the misleading label of "largest single drop" waterfall in the world which is often misinterpreted as "tallest single drop." However, it is likely one of the most powerful waterfalls in the world.

According to a Patamona Indian legend, Kaieteur Falls was named for Kai, a chief, or Toshao who acted to save his people by paddling over the falls in an act of self-sacrifice to Makonaima, the great spirit.

Kaieteur Falls is a major tourist attraction in Guyana. The falls is located in Kaieteur National Park and is in the centre of Guyana's rainforest. There are frequent flights between the falls' airstrip and Ogle Airport and Cheddi Jagan International Airport in Georgetown.

These terrace waterfalls are Thailand's largest at an estimated height of 400 meters and a width of 300 meters during the rainy season. They are also considered by many to be Thailand's most beautiful. The falls are part of the Um Phang Wildlife Sancuary.

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Umphang is located in North Western Thailand along the Myanmar border. In order to get to Umphang you fly into the town of Mae Sot and take the 164km winding road through the Thanon Thongchai Mountain Range.

The Niagara Falls are voluminous waterfalls on the Niagara River, straddling the international border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York.

The falls are 17 miles (27 km) north-northwest of Buffalo, New York and 75 miles (120 km) south-southeast of Toronto, Ontario, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York.

According to Iroquoian scholar Bruce Trigger, "Niagara" is derived from the name given to a branch of the locally residing native Neutral Confederacy, who are described as being called the "Niagagarega" people on several late 17th century French maps of the area.

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Peak numbers of visitors occur in the summertime, when Niagara Falls are both a daytime and evening attraction. From the Canadian side, floodlights illuminate both sides of the Falls for several hours after dark (until midnight).

The oldest and best known tourist attraction at Niagara Falls is the Maid of the Mist boat cruise, named for an ancient Ongiara Indian mythical character, which has carried passengers into the whirlpools beneath the Falls since 1846. Cruise boats operate from boat docks on both sides of the falls

The waterfall Skógafoss is situated in the south of Iceland at the cliffs of the former coastline.

The Skógafoss is one of the biggest and most beautiful waterfalls of the country with a width of 25 meters and a drop of 60 meters. Due to the amount of spray the waterfall consistently produces, a single or double rainbow is normally visible on sunny days.

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According to legend, the first Viking settler in the area, Þrasi Þórólfsson, buried a treasure in a cave behind the waterfall. A local boy found the chest years later, but was only able to grasp the ring on the side of the chest before it disappeared again.

At the eastern side of the waterfall, a hiking and trekking trail leads up to the pass Fimmvörðuháls between the glaciers Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull. It goes down to Þórsmörk on the other side and continues as the famous Laugavegur to Landmannalaugar.

Sutherland Falls is one of the most well known waterfalls in New Zealand. Located near the Milford Track, at 580 metres (1,904 feet) the falls are officially the highest waterfall in New Zealand.

This record is disputed, with an unofficial listing for Browne Falls of 619 metres (2,031 feet).

It is a major tourist attraction in Fiordland National Park. Fiordland National Park occupies the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand.

It is the largest of the 14 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of 12,500 km², and a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. The park is administered by the Department of Conservation.

The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya (the Smoke that Thunders) is a waterfall located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe. The falls are some of the largest in the world.

Victoria falls is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. David Livingstone, the Scottish explorer, is believed to have been the first European to view the Victoria Falls.

While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, it is claimed to be the largest. This claim is based on a width of 1,708 metres (5,600 ft) and height of 108 meters (360 ft), forming the largest sheet of falling water in the world.

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By the end of the 1990s, almost 300,000 people were visiting the falls annually, and this was expected to rise to over a million in the next decade.

Unlike the game parks, Victoria Falls has more Zimbabwean and Zambian visitors than international tourists as they are accessible by bus and train and therefore comparatively inexpensive to reach

The two countries permit tourists to make day trips from one side to the other without the necessity of obtaining a visa in advance, but visas issued at the border are expensive, particularly upon entering Zimbabwe

The Wallaman Falls are notable for their single-drop of 268 metres, which is Australia's highest permanent waterfall. With the addition of additional related minor drops the overall height of the falls is approximately 340 metres. The pool at the end of the waterfall is 20 metres deep.

The waterfall is formed by a tributary of the Herbert River, Stony Creek, which plunges over an escarpment in the Seaview Range.

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Wallaman Falls is part of the traditional lands of the Warrgamaygan Aboriginal people and is an Aboriginal sacred place.

It is located in the town of Ingham, Queensland. Wallaman Falls may be reached by traveling west from Ingham along Abergowrie Rd, from where the route to the falls is well signposted.

Yosemite Falls is the highest measured waterfall in North America. Located in Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, it is a major attraction in the park, especially in late spring when the water flow is at its peak.

The total 739 m (2,420 ft) from the top of the upper falls to the base of the lower falls qualifies Yosemite Falls as the sixth highest waterfall in the world, though with the recent discovery of Gocta Cataracts, it appears on some lists as seventh

Although often referred to as a "two-stage drop", the falls actually consist of three sections: Upper Falls, Middle Cascades and Lower Falls

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In years of little snow, the falls may actually cease flowing altogether in late summer or fall. Although, a single afternoon thunderstorm could restart the falls.

The Lower Falls are easily accessible near the Yosemite Lodge in Yosemite Valley. The top of the Upper Falls may be reached via a steep, strenuous, and usually crowded 5.63 kilometres (3.50 mi) hike beginning near the Sunnyside Walk-in Campground. The Upper Falls may also be reached via several routes from the Tioga Road to the north.