Rainbow Bridge

Iguazu Falls are waterfalls originated by the Iguazu River on the border of the Argentine province of Misiones and the Brazilian state of Paraná. The... more

by Mirko Chianucci

Title

Rainbow Bridge

Artist

Mirko Chianucci

Medium

Photograph

Description

Iguazu Falls are waterfalls originated by the Iguazu River on the border of the Argentine province of Misiones and the Brazilian state of Paraná. The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu. The Iguazu River rises near the city of Curitiba. For most of its course, the river flows through Brazil, however, most of the falls are on the Argentine side. Below its confluence with the San Antonio River, the Iguazu River forms the boundary between Argentina and Brazil. The name "Iguazu" comes from the Guarani or Tupi words "y", meaning "water", and "ûasú", meaning "big". It is considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

There are 275 waterfalls which extend for 2,7 km and the various waterfalls vary between 60 to 82 mt in height. However, the number of these waterfalls fluctuates from 150 to 300, depending on the water level. The 'Garganta Del Diablo' (Devil's Throat) is the biggest and most impressive of this waterfalls; it is 82 mt high, 150 mt wide and 700 mt long. It is very common to observe rainbows at the base of the waterfalls. The Iguazu Falls are arranged in a way that resembles a reversed letter "J". The border between Brazil and Argentina runs through the Devil's Throat. 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 Argentine, which make up almost 80% of the falls.

The explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (Spanish) was the first European to see the falls in 1541. One of the falls on the Argentina side is named after him. There is a legend to explain the falls: God wanted to marry Naipí, an Aborigine girl, against her wish. She escaped on a canoe with her human lover, Tarobá. Upon realizing this, he got angry and separated the River Iguazu by creating deep falls so that the two will be condemned to an eternal fall.

Upon seeing Iguazu, the United States First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly exclaimed "Poor Niagara!" (which are a third shorter). Often Iguazu also is compared with Victoria Falls in Southern Africa, which separates Zambia and Zimbabwe. Iguazu is wider, but because it is split into approximately 275 discrete falls and large islands, Victoria has the largest curtain of water in the world, at more than 1.600 m wide and over 100 m in height.

Uploaded

May 12th, 2016