Exploring Nature: Wonderful Waterfalls

I do love a good waterfall.

While I have never seen the most famous one in this country — Niagara Falls — I have seen some good ones.

Gullfoss in Iceland was a scenic wonder offering hundreds of rainbows and water of a golden- brown color. You look down in a ravine to see it.

Snoqualmie Falls, located east of Seattle, is probably the one with the longest name; it was named after the native people in the region who considered it the site of their creation story. Today, it is visited by over two million people every year.

One of the falls I would most like to see is Angel Falls, located in Venezuela. It is an astounding 3,212 feet high. It was discovered by and named for an American aviator, Jimmie Angel, who first saw the cascade while flying over the desolate area. It is the tallest waterfall in the world.

Multanomah Falls in Oregon is best admired from a bridge built over the river and offering great up close and personal views of the thundering water. I rate it one of the finest I’ve seen.

But the absolute, unquestioned champion in my opinion is Victoria Falls, located on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia in South Africa. It is considered one of the seven wonders of the world.

And for good reason. Its native name means “smoke that thunders,” and it certainly lives up to that name — you can hear the water roar from a long way off. When you get closer, you will get drenched by the heavy spray from the falls. I personally enjoyed the cooling mist and the multiple rainbows in the area.

Victoria Falls was named by the famous explorer David Livingston in honor of Queen Victoria and there is a bronze statue of Livingston in the visitors area of the falls.

I’m told 500 million liters of water pour over Victoria Falls every minute. They are 354 feet high and amazingly, a few brave people actually swim in a pool located just above the falls in a calm eddy of the Zambezi River. Use of the pool is highly restricted since there is always the risk of drifting into the swift current and over the falls.

I did not inquire about using the pool. I’d just about as soon go over Niagara in a barrel.