There can be no doubt that a waterfall hurtling down a rock face is one of the most beautiful sights in the natural world.
Angel Falls, Venezuela
Angel Falls , Venezuela, is the world's highest free falling waterfall. It drops an amazing 976 metres, or 3212 feet. The falls is so high that before the water can reach the ground it is blown by the wind into a fine spray. In 1912 Venezuelan explorer Ernesto Sanchez La Cruz discovered this gigantic waterfall but it wasn't until 1933 that James Crawford Angel flew over the falls and made it known to the outside world. Hence the name, Angel Falls.
Tugela, South Africa
Tugela Falls in South Africa is the highest cascading waterfall in the world. The total height of the falls is 948 metres or 3110 feet. The largest single drop is 411 metres, or 1350 feet. There are five separate drops here as the water cascades over the rocks.
Utigord, Norway
This Norwegian waterfall is cited by several sources as the third highest falls in the world. (Dorling Kindersley Publishers and Russell Ash in Top Ten of Everything) but the World Waterfall Database cites it as number eleven. The total drop is 818 metres or 2685 feet and there are five free leaping cascades. These falls are fed by a glacier so the water flow is seasonal and of insufficient volume to allow it to be used for hydro electric power.
Yosemite, USA
Yosemite Falls is the highest measured falls in North America. It stands at 739 metres, or 2425 feet. The water flow is at its peal in late Spring. This falls is the sixth highest falls in the world although the recent discovered of the Peruvian Gocta Cataracts has pushed it down to seventh.
Gocta Cataracts (Upper Section)
These recently discovered cataracts have two massive drops and they were not known to the outside world until they were discovered in 2005 by German explorer Stefan Ziemandorff and his Peruvian party. The height of the falls was measured at 771 metres, or 2532 feet which puts it at the third highest in the world.
Mutarazi, Zimbabwe
This is a free leaping falls which is 761 metres, or 2499 feet high. It has two separate tiers and was listed as the fifth highest falls in the world. This has changed since the discovery of Gocha Cataracts and is now in sixth place.
