Difference between revisions of "AY Honors/Waterfalls/Answer Key"

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(→‎Examples of large waterfalls: correct as per published citations)
(→‎Examples of large waterfalls: correct previous deletion from uninformed editor.)
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* [[Angel Falls]], the world's highest at 979 m (3230 ft), in [[Venezuela]]
 
* [[Angel Falls]], the world's highest at 979 m (3230 ft), in [[Venezuela]]
 
* [[Tugela Falls]], the world's second highest at 947 m (3110 ft), in [[KwaZulu-Natal]] province, Republic of [[South Africa]].
 
* [[Tugela Falls]], the world's second highest at 947 m (3110 ft), in [[KwaZulu-Natal]] province, Republic of [[South Africa]].
 +
* [[Ramnefjellsfossen]], the world's third highest at 808m (2685 ft), at Stryn, Nesdalen, Norway.
 
* [[Victoria Falls]], the world's widest, on the [[Zambezi River]], on the border between [[Zambia]] and [[Zimbabwe]]
 
* [[Victoria Falls]], the world's widest, on the [[Zambezi River]], on the border between [[Zambia]] and [[Zimbabwe]]
 
* [[Boyoma Falls]], with the world's highest volume, 17,000 m&sup3;/s (600,000 ft&sup3;/s), on the [[Congo River]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
 
* [[Boyoma Falls]], with the world's highest volume, 17,000 m&sup3;/s (600,000 ft&sup3;/s), on the [[Congo River]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
* [[Gocta]], the fifth highest in the world at 771 m, located in the province [[Chachapoyas Province|Chachapoyas]], [[Peru]]
+
* [[Gocta]], the fifth highest in the world at 771 m (2533 ft), located in the province [[Chachapoyas Province|Chachapoyas]], [[Peru]]
 
* [[Yosemite Falls]], the tallest in [[North America]], located in [[Yosemite National Park]], [[United States]]
 
* [[Yosemite Falls]], the tallest in [[North America]], located in [[Yosemite National Park]], [[United States]]
 
* [[Niagara Falls]], most voluminous in North America, on the border between the United States and [[Canada]]
 
* [[Niagara Falls]], most voluminous in North America, on the border between the United States and [[Canada]]

Revision as of 22:40, 13 April 2006

Hopetoun Falls near Otway National Park, Victoria, Australia

A waterfall is usually a geological formation resulting from water, often in the form of a stream, flowing over an erosion-resistant rock formation that forms a sudden break in elevation. Waterfalls may also be artificial, and they are sometimes created as garden and landscape ornament.

Some waterfalls form in mountain environments where erosion is rapid and stream courses may be subject to sudden and catastrophic change. In such cases, the waterfall may not be the end product of many years of water action over a region, but rather the result of relatively sudden geological processes such as thrust faults or volcanic action.

Formation

Formation of a waterfall

Typically, a stream flow across an area of formations strata will form shelves across the streamway, elevated above the further stream bed when the less erosion-resistant rock around it disappears. Over a period of years, the edges of this shelf will gradually break away and the waterfall will steadily move upstream. Often, the rock strata just below the more resistant shelf will be of a softer type, and will erode out to form a shallow cave-like formation known as a rock shelter (also known as a rock house) under and behind the waterfall.

Waterfalls can also form due to glaciation, whereby 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.

Streams often become wider and more shallow just above waterfalls due to flowing over the rock shelf, and there is usually a deep pool just below the waterfall due to the kinetic energy of the water hitting the bottom.

Types of waterfalls

Cascade-style waterfall in Oregon, United States.
Block
Water descends from a relatively wide stream or river.
Cascade
Water descends a series of rock steps.
Cataract
A large waterfall. See Cataracts of the Nile for a well-known sequence of six.
Fan
Water spreads horizontally as it descends while remaining in contact with bedrock.
Horsetail
Descending water maintains some contact with bedrock.
Plunge
Water descends vertically, losing contact with the bedrock surface.
Punchbowl
Water descends in a constricted form, then spreads out in a wider pool.
Segmented
Distinctly separate flows of water form as it descends.
Tiered
Water drops in a series of distinct steps or falls.
Multi step
A series of waterfalls one after another of roughly the same size each with its own sunken plunge pool.

Examples of large waterfalls

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Gallery

External links

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