Iguazu falls

Iguazu Falls
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|Iguazu Falls |
|[pic] |
|Iguazu Falls as seen from a helicopter |
|Location |Iguazu Falls, |
||Misiones, Argentina & |
| |Paraná (state), Brazil. |
|Coordinates |[pic]25°41′43″S 54°26′12″WCoordinates: [pic]25°41′43″S 54°2|
| |6′12″W |
|Type |Cataract |
|Totalheight |60–82 metres (200–269 ft)[1] |
|Number of drops |275[1] |
|Longest drop |82 metres (269 ft)[1] |
|Total width |2.7 kilometres (1.7 mi)[1] |
|Watercourse |Iguazu River|
|Average flow rate |1,756 m3/s (62,010 cu ft/s)[1] |


Iguazu Falls, Iguassu Falls, or Iguaçu Falls (Portuguese: Cataratas do Iguaçu [kataˈɾatɐz du iɡwaˈsu]; Spanish: Cataratas del Iguazú [kataˈɾataz ðel iɣwaˈsu]; Guarani: Chororo Yguasu [ɕoɾoɾo ɨɣʷasu]) are waterfalls of the Iguazu River located on the border of the Brazilian State of Paraná and the ArgentineProvince of Misiones. The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu. The Iguazu River originates near the city of Curitiba. It flows through Brazil for most of its course. Below its confluence with the San Antonio River, the Iguazu River forms the boundary between Brazil and Argentina.

The name "Iguazu" comes from the Guarani or Tupi words y [ɨ], meaning "water", and ûasú [waˈsu],meaning "big".[2] Legend has it that a god planned to marry a beautiful woman namedNaipí, who fled with her mortal lover Tarobá in a canoe. In rage the god sliced the river, creating the waterfalls and condemning the lovers to an eternal fall.[2] The first European to find the falls was the Spanish Conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in 1541.


[edit]Geography

Iguazu Falls is located wherethe Iguazu River tumbles over the edge of the Paraná Plateau, 23 kilometres (14 mi) upriver from the Iguazu's confluence with the Paraná River.[1]Numerous islands along the 2.7-kilometre (1.7 mi) long edge divide the falls into about 275 separate waterfalls and cataracts, varying between 60 metres (200 ft) and 82 metres (269 ft) high. About half of the river's flow falls into a long and narrowchasm called the Devil's Throat (Garganta del Diablo in Spanish or Garganta do Diabo in Portuguese).[1] The Devil's Throat is U-shaped, 82-meter-high, 150-meter-wide, and 700-meter-long. The border between Brazil and Argentina runs through the Devil's Throat.[contradiction]

About 900 meters of the 2.7-kilometer length does not have water flowing over it. The edge of the basalt cap recedes by 3 mm(0.1 in) per year. The water of the lower Iguazu collects in a canyon that drains in the Paraná River, a short distance downstream from the Itaipu Dam. The junction of the water flows marks the border between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. There are points in the cities of Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, Puerto Iguazú, Argentina, and Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, which have access to the Iguazu River wherethe borders of all three countries can be seen, a popular tourist attraction for visitors to the three cities.


[edit]Distribution of the Falls between Argentina and Brazil

Iguazu Falls are arranged in a way that seems a reverse J. On the right bank is the Brazilian territory, which has just over 20% of the jumps of these falls, and the left side jumps are Argentines, which make up...