What is a waterfall in geography? Geographic feature. The meaning of waterfalls. The most beautiful waterfalls

Hi all! Today I again have something interesting to read for you. And so I thought it would be interesting to speculate about what a waterfall is?

The water forms a picturesque landscape, falling steeply over several ledges. Those waterfalls that fall gently are called waterfalls. Mighty and wide waterfalls are called cataracts, an example is the waterfall on the river. Congo.

Gradually, the ledge of the waterfall collapses, especially in places near the base, and then it recedes upstream. For example, the famous Niagara Falls, striking in its scale, annually "eats" 0.7 - 0.9 m of the rock from which it falls.

And for the entire time of its existence, it "moved away" more than 10 km from the place where it arose. And if it continues like this, then it will reach Lake Erie in 20 thousand years, and having swallowed it, it will cease to exist.

Famous waterfalls of the world.

On the river of the same name (border of Canada and). This waterfall is divided into two main parts: American - 49 m high and Canadian - 50 m high. The waterfall is famous for its loss of water - about 426,000 m 3 / min.

on the Zambezi River (border between Zimbabwe and Zambia). The height of this waterfall is from 60 m to 107 m, the length is about 1.5 km. He is thrown into a narrow huge abyss and disappears in it.

Waterfall on the river of the same name (border of Brazil and Argentina) 73 m high.

on the Churun ​​River (Basin of the Caroni River, Venezuela). It is the tallest waterfall in the world. Overall Height- 1054 m, and the height free fall- 979 m.

On the Merced River (California, USA), 491 m high.

Yellowstone Lower and Upper waterfalls on the Yellowstone River (Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA) with a height of 94 m and 33 m, respectively.

On the river of the same name (Natal province, PAR). Its total height is 859 m, and the free fall height is 518 m.

On the Parana River (border of Paraguay and Brazil) with a height of about 114 m. It is believed that this waterfall has the largest average water loss among all waterfalls - 793,000 m 3 / min.

- This is a cascade of waterfalls on the Yosemite Creek (California, USA). Its total height is 739 m, and the Upper Yosemite Falls is the highest at 436 m.

On the Meadow River (California, USA) with a height of 357 m.

On the river of the same name (Orinoco river basin, Venezuela) with a height of 625 m.

On the river Po (basin of the river Adour, Central Pyrenees, France) with a height of 422 m.

On the Maclay River (New South Wales, Australia) 482 m high.

That's all, I hope that now it has become clear what a waterfall is, and you liked the trip to the most famous waterfalls in the world 🙂

I present to you a selection of waterfalls that amaze with their power and height, surrounded by the pristine beauty of wild landscapes. One vacation photo against the background of any of these creations of nature - and life has not been lived in vain.
It is impossible to deny that the waterfalls are one of the most beautiful natural phenomena. Crystalline jets of water that roar from dizzy height, splitting and playing in the rays of the sun - a truly bewitching sight, especially against the backdrop of sheer cliffs and picturesque meadows. Any waterfall represents power and grandeur, but there are such instances in the world that you can admire for hours.
Tugela, South Africa


The Tugela Falls are the second largest in the world. He is in South Africa, in royal national park. The height of the waterfall is 411 meters.
Iguazu, Argentina




This waterfall, located on the border of Brazil and Argentina, is considered one of the most powerful in the world. In fact, Iguazu is not just one waterfall, but a whole system of 275 waterfalls ranging in height from 60 to 80 meters and a length of about 3 kilometers. The largest waterfall is a U-shaped natural formation, called the "Devil's Throat" by the Spanish conquistadors.
Yosemite waterfall in Yosemite National Park, USA



This waterfall can be admired in California, in the national park of the same name. Yosemite is one of the highest waterfalls in the world - 739 meters. It is interesting that in winter the waterfall almost "calms down", and in spring and summer it reaches its maximum scope. national park also known for its rocks, which are trying to conquer the most desperate lovers of extreme recreation.
Angel Falls, Venezuela



Angel is the highest waterfall in the world. Its height is 979 meters, which is 15 times more than the height of the famous Niagara. The waterfall is located in Venezuela, in the Canaima National Park, and every year thousands of tourists come to the country to see this miracle of nature with their own eyes, and risky base jumpers even jump from it. The waterfall is named after the American aviator Jimmy Angel, who, flying over Venezuela, noticed this waterfall from a height and opened it to the whole world.
Waterfalls of Kauai Island, Hawaii




Kauai is the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands that emerged 6 million years ago. A huge amount of precipitation contributes to the formation in the mountains deep canyons with many waterfalls. The Guinness Book of Records listed the rain that lasted on this island for 247 days without a break, from August 27, 1993 to April 30, 1994.
Niagara Falls, USA






Niagara Falls in the northeastern United States is one of the most powerful in the world - about 2.8 million liters of water per second falls from a height of 53 meters. Tourists love Niagara Falls because it is relatively easy to get to and see from all angles.
Victoria, South Africa




Victoria Falls is also called the Thundering Smoke of Africa because of the unimaginable rumble emitted by thousands of liters of water falling every second into the white abyss of the water haze they raise. Victoria is one of the giant waterfalls, its height is 108 meters. His official name the waterfall is indebted to David Livingston, an explorer from Scotland. He visited here in 1855 and was so delighted with the beauty and power of the waterfall that he named it after the queen.
Gokta, Peru




Gokta is the fifth largest waterfall in the world, located in Peru. Its height is 771 meters. Unbelievable, but true: the world learned about this waterfall only in 2005, and before that only natives admired its beauties.
Sutherland, New Zealand



There is a waterfall in New Zealand called Sutherland. It is located on the South Island and is considered one of the most beautiful and mysterious waterfalls peace. Getting to the waterfall is not easy, but it's worth it - a narrow jet of water flying from a height of 580 meters, surrounded by dense greenery and rocks, is a fantastic sight!
Kaieteur, Guyana


This miracle of nature lurks in tropical forests Guyana, countries in South America. Kaieteur is one of the largest waterfalls in the world. Its height is about 226 meters. For a long time, only locals knew about this waterfall, but in 1870 an English geologist accidentally discovered it. Getting to the waterfall is quite difficult, but this does not stop the flow of tourists who want to see Kaieteur with their own eyes.
Vinnufossen, Norway


Norwegian waterfall Vinnufossen - the highest in Europe (860 meters). Falling from a great height, the water splits into four streams, which makes the waterfall even more beautiful.
Dettifoss, Iceland




The Icelandic waterfall Dettifoss is the most powerful in Europe. Its height is about 40 meters, and its capacity is about 200 cubic meters of water per second. The waterfall is surrounded beautiful rocks, gorges and lakes and is very popular with both locals and tourists.
Inga, Congo




Inga waterfall is part of famous waterfalls Livingston in the Congo. This is one of the largest and powerful waterfalls in the world. Its height is 96 meters.
Rovijoki, Norway




Rovijoki waterfall in the Norwegian town of Skibotn, famous primarily for its astrophysical observatory, which is the northernmost observatory in the world.
Salto del Laja, Chile


Salto del Laja is a picturesque 35-meter waterfall in Chile, which is often called the pearl of this country.
Zhenzhutan, China


The Zhenzhutan Waterfall in the Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve in China is irresistible in its pristine beauty. At the top of the rock there is a threshold, against which its waters hit, forming many smaller waterfalls, and with swift jets it falls down like real water pearls.
Rideau, Canada


Frozen Rideau Falls in Ottawa, Canada. The name of the waterfalls was given by Samuel de Champlain in 1613, for whom the sight of falling water resembled a curtain (rideau - curtain, French). Later, the Rideau River was named after the falls, and many other objects in Ottawa were named after it.

IN grand canyon, USA. WATERFALL, the fall of water in a river from a ledge that crosses a river bed. Water can fall over several ledges, forming a series of cascade waterfalls; less steeply falling waterfalls are called waterfalls. Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

WATERFALL, the fall of the waters of a river or stream from a steep slope or cliff. Where the bed of the river crosses the junction of various rocks, certain types of EROSION occur. Softer rock breaks down faster, creating a sharp level drop. If the layer is more ... ... Scientific and technical encyclopedic dictionary

WATERFALL, waterfalls, man. A stormy stream of water, rapidly falling from a ledge formed by a sharp drop in the channel. The river forms a waterfall. mountain waterfall. Dictionary Ushakov. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

Sutherland, utigard, tugela, water skid, angel, victoria, cascade, iguazu, boyoma, padun, vitoria, cataract, havarny Dictionary of Russian synonyms. waterfall n., number of synonyms: 23 angels (1) ... Synonym dictionary

The fall of water in a river from a ledge that crosses a river channel. Water can fall over several ledges, forming a series of cascade waterfalls; waterfalls that fall less steeply are called waterfalls ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

WATERFALL, a, husband. A stream of water rapidly falling from a height. Mountain c. | adj. waterfall, oh, oh. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

This is the name of the place where a river or stream falls over a steep or even steep ledge. Thresholds are not quite correctly distinguished from V. by a series of successive, but usually insignificant V. heights, which are often instead of one large one. IN.… … Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

A place where a stream bed forms a ledge from which water falls down. The following types of water are distinguished: 1) the Niagara mass of water is overthrown by a wide front and its width is equal to or more height; characteristic of horizontally occurring settlements decomp. ... ... Geological Encyclopedia

waterfall- sleepless (Fedorov); wildling (Bryusov); silvery white (Bryusov); gray-haired (Balmont) Epithets of literary Russian speech. M: The supplier of the court of His Majesty, the partnership of the printing press A. A. Levenson. A. L. Zelenetsky. 1913 ... Dictionary of epithets

waterfall- The fall of the water of the river from the ledge that crosses the river bed. Water can fall over several ledges, forming a series of waterfalls - a cascade. [Glossary of geological terms and concepts. Tomsk State University] Topics geology, geophysics ... ... Technical Translator's Handbook

Books

• Waterfall, Zulfiya. Waterfall…
• Waterfall, G. R. Derzhavin. On July 20 (8), 1816, Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin, the greatest poet of his time, the predecessor of the great Pushkin, died. More than 150 years have passed since then, and many of Derzhavin's poems excite...

Water is one of the four elements. Many consider her soft, flexible, devoid of any aggression and strength. But everything changes at the moment when a view of the waterfall opens before your eyes. When the sound of a roaring stream of water spreads throughout the area, eclipsing all other sounds. At this moment, it seems that nothing in the world can stop the powerful giant.

But what is a waterfall? More precisely, what does it mean for us? Why do millions of tourists annually strive to plan their route in such a way as to see this natural phenomenon at least out of the corner of their eye? And where are the most beautiful waterfalls peace?

The unstoppable power of water

Before embarking on a journey to the most remote corners of the planet, let's stop for a moment and talk about rivers. After all, thanks to them, we were able to find out what a waterfall is. If not for their assertiveness and inflexibility, the water would not have been able to reach the right place.

Every waterfall in this world originates from a river, and it doesn't matter if it flows on the surface or if it is an underground source. This means that a waterfall is another element in the closed chain of the water cycle.

But these are all just words. More importantly, he is able to awaken wonderful feelings in us, such as joy, admiration and the desire to become better. That is why we are so eager to see this wonderful creation of nature at least once in our lives.

The highest waterfalls in the world

What fascinates people the most in waterfalls? The answer will be their strength and power, and they, in turn, depend on the height of the fall of the water and the speed of the current. That is why, to begin with, you should do small excursion where the highest waterfalls in the world are located. Here are the top three:

1. So, what a waterfall is is well known to the people of Venezuela, because in their country there is the highest waterfall in the world. It was discovered relatively recently, or rather, in 1935. The discovery itself belongs to the American pilot James Crawford Angel, who noticed him during the flight.

Since that time, the waterfall has been named Angel (or Angel), its height is 978 meters. Every year it is visited by thousands of tourists, while they are not at all afraid of the fact that they will have to make their way to the waterfall through the dense thickets of the jungle.

2. South Africa has a large royal park Natal. This very picturesque piece of the black continent is in itself great place for tourism. But what gives it a special charm is that it is located on a slope.

The total height of the five water cascades is 948 m, which makes it the second highest. According to the tourists best time for a visit here - winter, as during this period the top of the waterfall is covered with a large snow cap. Sometimes it seems that a little more, and the waterfall itself will turn into a piece of ice, but still this has never happened.

3. Norway has two of the highest waterfalls in Europe. The first is Utigord, its height is 800 meters. The second is Monge, with a slightly lower height of 774 meters. Given the virgin beauty of the local nature, Norway becomes the best option for those who want to see the highest waterfalls without leaving Europe.

The most beautiful waterfalls

High does not mean the most beautiful. That is why we present a description of the three most wonderful waterfalls in the world. Indeed, without this, it is simply impossible to understand what a waterfall is:

1. The first place legally belongs to a waterfall called Iguazu, it is located at the junction of Brazil and Argentina. To be more precise, this is a whole system of seething water streams that form the letter "U". According to local scientists, there are more than 270 waterfalls with a total length of about 3 kilometers.

2. Next on the list is Croatia with its Plitvice waterfalls. They are located on the territory of a local nature reserve, so nature here has retained its original appearance. But main feature of this place - lakes with crystal clean water. These reservoirs are located at different heights and are interconnected by cascades of waterfalls.

Many of you believe that Niagara Falls is the largest, highest and widest in the world. This is wrong. It is popular due to professional and competent advertising. There are higher and wider waterfalls in the world, which are many times larger than Niagara.

The tallest waterfall in the world - Angel Falls

The waterfall is giant. It is found deep in the rainforests of Venezuela. The height of the Angel Falls is 973 meters(highest waterfall in the world).

The discovery happened quite by accident. In 1933 The Venezuelan government sent an expedition in search of ore deposits. An aviator named James Angel accidentally discovered Angel while making another overflight of the territory in search of ore. This is how the highest waterfall in the world was found.

photo of himself high waterfall in the world - Angel

Later, in 1937, James Angel, along with his wife and two other companions, decided to land on top of the falls, but they failed.

The plane on which they arrived was damaged and they were forced to return home on foot. The road home was 11 days, because this waterfall is located in one of the most inaccessible places.

Most fast way get to Angel - by river or air. In December 2009, by decision of the President of Venezuela, it was renamed Kerepakupai-meru after the name of the area where it is located. However, for most locals, as well as tourists from all over the world, he remained just "Angel".

The tour, by local standards, is quite expensive - $ 300, however, the sight that you will see is simply breathtaking. You can choose to take a tour either by plane or along the mouth of the river.

The most beautiful waterfall - Tugela

In the province of Natal, which is located in South Africa, high in the mountains is the second largest in the world - Tugela Falls. It takes its name from the river of the same name. The place where the waterfall is located runs along the river and there are only two paths leading to it. You can reach the top of the waterfall on foot in 6-8 hours.

Tugela is an amazingly beautiful sight of five cascades falling down. highest height waterfall cascade - 411 meters. The total height of the cascade is 948 meters, and the width is 15 meters. Tourists love to visit this place. The cost of the tour is $50.

Tugela photo

The most unusual waterfall - "Three Sisters"

Most picturesque waterfall. It is surrounded on all sides by forest, the height of the trees in which reaches 30 meters. It is located in Peru and consists of three branches of a cascade of water falling down. The tiers of the cascade have many jets, which below form a pool with small islands and thickets. This waterfall is especially beautiful in the sun, when its top is illuminated by a rainbow. From the heat, tourists escape under the crown of trees. The waterfall is 914 meters high and 14 meters wide.

photo "Three Sisters"

The most famous and popular is Niagara Falls.

"Niagara" in Indian translation - "rumbling water". This name was not given to him in vain. The roar from the waterfall can be heard for many kilometers. Being near him, in the literal sense, you can not hear anything.

Niagara is the most popular and famous waterfall in the US, which separates the US and Canada. It was formed over a thousand years ago as a result of the melting of a glacier. The characteristic green color of the water is due to the high content of particles. rocks dissolved in the waters of the Niagara River and Lakes Erie and Ontario.

The waterfall is 1200 meters wide and 53 meters high. Niagara Falls, although not the largest in the world, is definitely the most beautiful. Millions of tourists come to see this beauty. They can:

take a look around the area viewing platforms and towers;

commit walking tour by galleries;

ride on cable car, by helicopter and hot-air balloon right above Niagara.

Niagara Falls also attracts "extreme-seekers".

In 1859 Frenchman Charles Blondin crossed the Niagara Gorge on a rope suspended at a height of 500 meters.

In 1901 American Annie Taylor descended from him in a barrel and, at the same time, remained alive. Attempts to repeat this trick were made more than once, but ended in a hospital bed, due to numerous bruises.

In the USA it is considered the main attraction. Over the years, the popularity has only increased. The cost of the tour is $30.

photo of Niagara Falls

The largest and widest waterfall in the world - Victoria

The waterfall got its name in 1855, thanks to an explorer named David Livingston, who, having visited it, decided to name it in honor of Queen Victoria. locals They call it "Thundering Smoke". Victoria Falls is located in South Africa, on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia. Victoria is 108 meters high and 1800 meters wide(this is the largest wide waterfall in the world).

During rain showers, Victoria turns into a continuous rain stream in which nothing is visible. During a drought, Victoria dries up considerably and its flow becomes slower. The waterfall is also a place for people who prefer extreme view sports. Here you can do:

bungee jump tied to the legs;

fly over the canyon on a cable;

sail on a boat along the rivers;

make an excursion to the "Devil's Throat", etc.

The cost of excursions is $50.

photo of himself big waterfall in the world - Victoria

Iguazu Falls - 8 wonder of the world

It was discovered by the Spanish traveler Alvaro Caseso. In 1541, off the coast of Argentina and Brazil, he was looking for gold.

Iguazu is considered the eighth wonder of the world. Every hour they spew over 1 billion tons of water. Height - 82 meters, width of all cascades - 4000 m.

The name "Iguazu" means " big water” and this is completely true. They began to form about 250 million years ago and consist of 270 cascades. Most of Iguazu Falls is located in Argentina. Excursions for tourists are arranged both from the Brazilian and from the Argentinean side. The cost of the tour is $30.

Photo: Iguazu Falls