Iguazu Falls
Iguazu Falls, Iguassu Falls, or Iguaçu Falls (Portuguese: Cataratas do Iguaçu,, Spanish: Cataratas del Iguazú,) is a majestic area of cataracts on the Iguazu River, 14 miles (23 km) above its confluence with the Alto (Upper) Paraná River, at the Argentina-Brazil border. The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu. Their name comes from the Guarani or Tupi words meaning "great water." [1]
The area consists of a network of 275 different waterfalls spanning an area 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) wide. Iguaçu National Park of Brazil - declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986 - together with Iguazú National Park in Argentina, share the impressive waterfalls. The total area of both national parks corresponds to 250,000 hectares (965.25 sq mi, or 2,500 sq km) of subtropical and declared forest. The lush vegetation of these national parks is produced by abundant clouds of spray from the falls. The area is home to many rare and endangered species of plants and animals, among them the giant otter and the giant anteater.
Legend of the Cataracts
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 forming the abysses of the cataracts and creating the waterfalls, condemning the lovers to eternal misery. Naipí was turned into a rock next to the great waterfall, while her lover, Tarobá, was turned into a palm tree on the waters' banks, ever to gaze at his lover without being able to touch her.
History
Historically, the first European to find the Cataracts of the Iguaçu was the Spaniard, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, in the year of 1542
The first European to find the falls was the Spanish Conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in 1541, after whom one of the falls in the Argentine side is named.[1] The falls were rediscovered by Boselli[2] at the end of the nineteenth century, and one of the Argentinian falls is named after him.
EB The first Spanish explorer to visit the falls was Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in 1541. In 1897 Edmundo de Barros, a Brazilian army officer, envisaged the establishment of a national park at Iguaçu Falls. Following boundary rectifications between Brazil and Argentina, two separate national parks were established, one by each country—Iguaçu National Park (1939) in Brazil and Iguazú National Park (1934) in Argentina. Both parks were created to preserve the vegetation, wildlife, and scenic beauty associated with the falls. In 1984 the Argentine park was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, and two years later the Brazilian park was also granted World Heritage status. The Iguaçu area is served by three airports, in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.
The first Spanish explorer to see the falls (did you see the film The Mission?) was Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in 1541 but the vast power of the falls was not fully utilized until the construction of the huge Itaipu hydroelectric power plant built jointly by Paraguay and Brazil. Completed in 1991 the dam is open to tours and provides 12,600,000 KW of power satisfying almost 40% of Brazil and Argentine power needs. The dam one of the largest in the world is touted by both countries as a masterpiece of technology.
SOURCE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguaz%C3%BA_National_Park
Geography
The waterfall system consists of 275 falls along 2.7 kilometers (1.67 miles) of the Iguazu River. Position is at Latitude (DMS): 25° 40' 60 S ,Longitude (DMS): 54° 25' 60 W . Some of the individual falls are up to 82 metres (269 ft) in height, though the majority are about 64 metres (210 ft). The Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat in English; Garganta do Diabo in Portuguese), a U-shaped 150-meter-wide and 700-meter-long (490 by 2300 feet) cliff, is the most impressive of all, and marks the border between Argentina and Brazil. Two thirds of the falls are within Argentine territory. [1] About 900 meters of the 2.7-kilometer length does not have water flowing over it. The edge of the basalt cap recedes only 3 mm per year.
The water of the lower Iguazu collects in a canyon that drains into the Rio Parana in Argentina.
Access
The falls can be reached from the two main towns on either side of the falls: Foz do Iguaçu in the Brazilian state of Paraná, and Puerto Iguazú in the Argentine province of Misiones as well as from Ciudad del Este (Paraguay) on the other side of the Parana river from Foz do Iguaçu. The falls are shared by the Iguazú National Park (Argentina) and Iguaçu National Park (Brazil). These parks were designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1984 and 1986, respectively.[3]
On the Brazilian side there is a long walkway along the canyon with an extension to the lower base of the “Garganta del Diablo.” The Argentian access is facilitated by a train (“Tren a las Cataratas”) (in early August 2007 the name for the free train operated in the National Park is "Tren ecologico de la selva") that brings visitors to different walkways. The “Paseo Garganta del Diablo” is a one kilometer long way to bring the visitor directly over the falls of the “Garganta del Diablo.” Other walkways allow access to the elongated stretch of falls on the Argentinian side and to the ferry that connects to the San Martin island.
The fall area provides opportunities for water sports and rock climbing.
Comparisons to other famous falls
Upon seeing Iguaçu, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly exclaimed "Poor Niagara!"[1] Vastly larger than North America's Niagara Falls, Iguaçu is rivaled only by Southern Africa's Victoria Falls which separates Zambia and Zimbabwe (this is excluding extremely large rapid-like falls such as the Boyoma Falls). Whilst Iguazu is wider because it is split into about 270 discrete falls and large islands, Victoria is the largest curtain of water in the world, at over a 1600 m wide and over 100 m (350 ft) in height (in low flow Victoria is split into five by islands; in high flow it can be uninterrupted).
The water falling over Iguazu in peak flow has a surface area of about 40 ha (1.3 million ft²) whilst Victoria in peak flow has a surface area of over 55 ha (1.8 million ft²).[4] By comparison, Niagara has a surface area of under 18.3 ha (600,000 ft²).[5] Victoria's annual peak flow is also greater than Iguazu's annual peak—9 100 m³/s versus 6 500—though in times of extreme flood the two have recorded very similar maximum water discharge (well in excess of 12 000 m³/s). Niagara's annual peak flow is about 2 800 m³/s, although an all-time peak of 6 800 has been recorded.[5] Iguazu and Victoria fluctuate more greatly in their flow rate. Mist rises between 30 and 150 m (100 and 500 ft) from Iguazu's Garganta do Diabo, and over 300 m (1,000 ft) above Victoria (sometimes over 600 m).
Iguazu, however, affords better 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. The Garganta do Diabo has water pouring into it from three sides. Likewise, 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).
As of July 24, 2006 a severe drought in South America had caused the river feeding the falls to become parched, reducing the amount of water flowing over the falls to 300 m³ (80,000 gallons) per second, down from the normal flow of 1,300 m³/s to 1,500 m³/s (350,000 to 400,000 ga/s). By early December, the flow was spectacular again, according to visiting tourists. This was unusual, as normally dry periods last only a few weeks.[2]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Bonnie Hamre. Iguazu Falls About.com. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Kerala Articles
- ↑ UNESCO.org
- ↑ World Waterfall Database-Victoria
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 World Waterfall Database-Niagara
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Barclay, William Singer. 1903. To the Falls of Iguazú. Buenos Aires: South American Bank Note Co.
- Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2008. Iguaçu Falls. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
- "Exotica: Iguazu Falls - Cascades so overwhelmingly grand they form the core of two national parks - in two countries." 1998. National Geographic Traveler. 15 (3): 112.
- NewOpenWorld Foundation. New 7 Wonders of the World Retrieved June 18, 2008.
- Welcome Argentina. Cataratas del Iguazu Retrieved June 18, 2008.
- World of Waterfalls. Iguazu Falls. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
External links
All links Retrieved May 11, 2008.
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