Iguazu Falls is the much talked about gorgeous waterfall system that
sits on the Iguazu River and separates Brazil and Argentina. The falls
itself is one of the more beautiful natural landmarks in all of South
America. The massive length of the falls, along with the spectacular
views provided, have made it one of the more popular tourist
destinations in the area.
Iguazu Falls is made up of over 270 individual waterfalls that run
concurrently over more than a mile and a half section of the Iguazu
Falls. The falls most spectacular feature is a horseshoe shaped section
called The Devil's Throat. The Devil's Throat is over 500 feet across
and about 2,300 feet in
length. The highest of the falls is 269 feet
though most average a height of 200 feet or so. Upstream of the falls
the Iguazu River is one of the main waterways in the area, while after
the falls it is divided into the Upper and Lower Iguazu River.
When compared to Niagara Falls, which sits on the border of the United
States of America and Canada, we find that Iguazu Falls dwarfs it by both size and water volume. At peak
water flow Niagara Falls has a
surface area of approximately 600,000 feet, while Iguazu Falls has a
surface area of approximately 1.3 million square feet of water at peak
flow time making it just over twice as large. In fact, Iguazu Falls is
more widely compared to Africa's famous Victoria Falls because of its
incredible size.
Though Victoria Falls is the world's widest curtain of
water, Iguazu Falls is actually wider but it is made up of more
individual falls and has islands perched at the top of the falls. In
terms of surface area of water, Victoria Falls has 1.8 million feet
compared to Iguazu's 1.3 million. Because of its length, Iguazu Falls
offers many more viewpoints and vistas than either Victoria or Niagara
Falls, so is seen as an even better tourist destination than the others.
Beyond the normal tourist activities associated with viewing the falls,
the area is also popular with rock and cliff climbers as well as those
interested in water recreation.
Iguazu Falls is truly one of the most beautiful waterfalls you can see
any where in the world.
