Waterfall

Angel Falls in Venezuela is the world's tallest waterfall at 979 m (3,212 ft).

A waterfall is an area where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops in the course of a stream or river. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.

Definition[]

A waterfall, or cataract, is generally defined as a point in a river where water flows over a steep drop that is close to or directly vertical. In 2000 Mabin specified that "The horizontal distance between the positions of the lip and plunge pool should be no more than c 25% of the waterfall height." There are various types and methods to classify waterfalls.^[1]

Formation[]

Formation of a waterfall

Waterfalls are commonly formed in the upper course of a river where lakes flow into valleys in steep mountains.^[2] Because of their landscape position, many waterfalls occur over bedrock fed by little contributing area, so they may be ephemeral and flow only during rainstorms or significant snowmelt. The further downstream, the more perennial a waterfall can be. Waterfalls can have a wide range of widths and depths.

Aerial view of Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River in southern Africa. The cloud formed by the mist is called cataractagenitus.^[3]

When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens slowly and is dominated by impacts of water-borne sediment on the rock, while downstream the erosion occurs more rapidly.^[2][4] As the watercourse increases its velocity at the edge of the waterfall, it may pluck material from the riverbed, if the bed is fractured or otherwise more erodible. Hydraulic jets and hydraulic jumps at the toe of a falls can generate large forces to erode the bed,^[5] especially when forces are amplified by water-borne sediment. Horseshoe-shaped falls focus the erosion to a central point, also enhancing riverbed change below a waterfalls.^[6] A process known as "potholing" involves local erosion of a potentially deep hole in bedrock due to turbulent whirlpools spinning stones around on the bed, drilling it out. Sand and stones carried by the watercourse therefore increase erosion capacity.^[2] This causes the waterfall to carve deeper into the bed and to recede upstream. Often over time, the waterfall will recede back to form a canyon or gorge downstream as it recedes upstream, and it will carve deeper into the ridge above it.^[7] The rate of retreat for a waterfall can be as high as one-and-a-half metres per year.^[2]

The Dettifoss in Iceland on 31 July 1972

Often, the rock stratum just below the more resistant shelf will be of a softer type, meaning that undercutting due to splashback will occur here to form a shallow cave-like formation known as a rock shelter under and behind the waterfall. Eventually, the outcropping, more resistant cap rock will collapse under pressure to add blocks of rock to the base of the waterfall. These blocks of rock are then broken down into smaller boulders by attrition as they collide with each other, and they also erode the base of the waterfall by abrasion, creating a deep plunge pool in the gorge downstream.

Streams can become wider and shallower just above waterfalls due to flowing over the rock shelf, and there is usually a deep area just below the waterfall because of the kinetic energy of the water hitting the bottom. However, a study of waterfalls systematics reported that waterfalls can be wider or narrower above or below a falls, so almost anything is possible given the right geological and hydrological setting.^[8] Waterfalls normally form in a rocky area due to erosion. After a long period of being fully formed, the water falling off the ledge will retreat, causing a horizontal pit parallel to the waterfall wall. Eventually, as the pit grows deeper, the waterfall collapses to be replaced by a steeply sloping stretch of river bed.^[2] In addition to gradual processes such as erosion, earth movement caused by earthquakes or landslides or volcanoes can cause a differential in land heights which interfere with the natural course of a water flow, and result in waterfalls.

A river sometimes flows over a large step in the rocks that may have been formed by a fault line. Waterfalls can occur along the edge of a glacial trough, where 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, which is referred to as a hanging valley. Another reason hanging valleys may form is where two rivers join and one is flowing faster than the other.^[2]

Classification[]

Waterfalls can be grouped into ten broad classes based on the average volume of water present on the fall (which depends on both the waterfall's average flow and its height) using a logarithmic scale.^[9]

Ecology[]

Waterfalls are an important factor in determining the distribution of lotic organisms such as fish and aquatic invertebrates, as they may restrict dispersal along streams The presence or absence of certain species can have cascading ecological effects, and thus cause differences in trophic regimes above and below waterfalls. Certain aquatic insects also specialize in the environment of the waterfall itself.^[10][11]

Waterfalls also affect terrestrial species. They create a small microclimate in their immediate vicinity characterized by cooler temperatures and higher humidity than the surrounding region, which may support diverse communities of mosses and liverworts. Species of these plants may have disjunct populations at waterfall zones far from their core range.^[12]

Waterfalls provide nesting cover for several species of bird, such as the black swift and white-throated dipper. These species preferentially nest in the space behind the falling water, which is thought to be a strategy to avoid predation.^[13]

Types[]

An example of an ephemeral waterfall. This one, when flowing, feeds into the Chagrin River.

• Ledge waterfall: Water descends vertically over a vertical cliff, maintaining partial contact with the bedrock.^[14] (e.g. Niagara Falls)
  • Block/Sheet: Water descends from a relatively wide stream or river.^[4][14]
  • Classical: Ledge waterfalls where fall height is nearly equal to stream width, forming a vertical square shape.^[4]
  • Curtain: Ledge waterfalls which descend over a height larger than the width of falling water stream.^[4]
• Plunge: Fast-moving water descends vertically, losing complete contact with the bedrock surface.^[14] The contact is typically lost due to horizontal velocity of the water before it falls. It always starts from a narrow stream. (e.g. Angel Falls)
  • Punchbowl: Water descends in a constricted form and then spreads out in a wider pool.^[14] (e.g. Punch Bowl Falls)
• Horsetail: Descending water maintains contact with bedrock most of the time.^[14] (e.g. Jog Falls)
  • Slide: Water glides down maintaining continuous contact.^[14]
  • Ribbon: Water descends over a long narrow strip.^[14]
  • Chute: A large quantity of water forced through a narrow, vertical passage.^[14]
  • Fan: Water spreads horizontally as it descends while remaining in contact with bedrock (e.g. Powerscourt Waterfall).^[14]
• Cascade: Water descends a series of rock steps.^[4][14] (e.g. Numa Falls)
• Tiered/Multi-step/Staircase: A series of waterfalls one after another of roughly the same size each with its own sunken plunge pool.^[14] (e.g. Ebor Falls)
• Cataract: A large, powerful waterfall.^[14] (e.g. Victoria Falls)
• Segmented: Distinctly separate flows of water form as it descends.^[14]
• Frozen: Any waterfall which has some element of ice or snow.^[14]
• Moulin: A moulin is a waterfall in a glacier.

Some waterfalls are also distinct in that they do not flow continuously. Ephemeral waterfalls only flow after a rain or a significant snowmelt.^[15][16][17]

Humans and waterfalls[]

Threats and protection[]

Human activities have threatened many waterfalls. For instance, the Guaíra Falls, once one of the most powerful waterfalls in the world, were submerged in 1982 by a human-made dam, as were the Ripon Falls in 1952. Conversely, other waterfalls have seen significantly lower water levels as a result of diversion for hydroelectricity, such as the Tyssestrengene in Norway.^[18]

Waterfalls are included on thirty-eight World Heritage Sites.^[19]

See also[]

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Goudie, Andrew S. (31 March 2020). "Waterfalls: Forms, Distribution, Processes and Rates of Recession". Quaestiones Geographicae. 39 (1): 59–77. doi:10.2478/quageo-2020-0005.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Waterfall.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Waterfalls.

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