New Delhi: Waterfalls tend to present us with breathtaking scenes and when it comes to Iguazu Falls, the joy and thrill will increase manifold due to the enthralling beauty of nature’s treasure. The Iguazu Falls are located on the border of an Argentine and a Brazilian place and every year, thousands of tourists visit the place to witness the waterfalls coming down from a great height. In this article, we will explore the Iguazu Falls and will try to entice you in witnessing it once in life.
Iguazu Falls: Nature’s beauty shared by Argentina and Brazil
Iguazu Falls are waterfalls of the Iguazu River and are located on the border of Misiones, a province in Argentina and Paraná, a state in Brazil. Together, the falls form the world’s largest waterfall system and they divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu. Notably, the falls look like an elongated horseshoe and it extends for 2.7 km. T
The width of the Iguazu Falls is nearly three times than that of North America’s Niagara Falls and is significantly greater than the width of Africa’s Victoria Falls. The Iguaçu River overcomes the rocky barriers and gets divided into around 275 waterfalls or cataracts, the height of which varies between 200 and 269 feet. The river rises near Curitiba’s heart, a city in Brazil. While the river mostly flows through Brazil, the falls are mostly located in Argentina. The river also forms the border between Argentina and Brazil.
Origin of the name and the national parks
The name of the Iguazu Falls comes from a Guaraní word meaning “great water.” According to a legend, a deity once wanted to marry Naipí, a beautiful woman. However, Naipí fled with Tarobá, her mortal lover in a canoe. The enraged deity sliced the river and created the waterfalls, condemning the lovers to an eternal fall. In 1541, Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca became the first European to record the existence of the falls.
Two national parks share the fall, the Iguazú National Park in Argentina and the Iguaçu National Park in Brazil. The two parks became UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1984 and 1986 respectively. It is interesting to note that the river’s major portion falls into a narrow, semicircular chasm which is famously known as the Devil’s Throat. Many have described it like an ocean plunging into an abyss and one can see the breathtaking view from both Brazil and Argentina. An array of rainbows are created there and it also has a curtain of mist which rises some 500 feet.
Accessibility to the Iguazu Falls
The Iguazu Falls can be reached from three airports in Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. From Buenos Aires, one can take direct flights of Aerolíneas Argentinas to Iguazu International Airport. Also, flights of Azul, GOL, and LATAM Brasil are available to the place.
The flora and fauna of the Iguazu Falls
The place has a rich vegetation and it ranges from tropical to semi-deciduous. Water plants including Podostemaceae grows only in rushing water and can be found on the ledges of the falls. There are many contrasts there, as orchids grow next to pines, mosses grow next to lianas, palm trees grow next to bamboos and colourful begonias. While the varied animal life has not been extensively studied in the place, Iguanas have been found there. Cat family members like jaguars and ocelots, deer, tapir, and several smaller animals can be found in the vicinity of the Iguazu Falls. One can find birds like Toucans and fish include the cascudo, golden salmon and mandi.
Iguazu Falls, straddling the Argentina-Brazil border, is a breathtaking spectacle of 275 cascading waterfalls. Its name, meaning great water in Guaraní, reflects its immense scale, dwarfing even Niagara and Victoria Falls. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
