AY Honors/Waterfalls/Answer Key

Hopetoun Falls near Otway National Park, Victoria, Australia

wikipediaA waterfawikipediall is usually a geological formation resultwikipediaing from water, often in the form of a stream, flowing over an erosion-resistant rock formation thawikiwikipediapediat forms a sudden break in elevation. Waterfalls wikipediamay also be artificiawikipedial, and they are swikipediaometimes created as garden and landscape ornament. wikipedia Some waterfalls form in mountain environments where erosion is rapid and stream courses may be wikipediasubject to sudden awikipediand 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.

Types of waterfalls

Cascade-style waterfall in Oregon, United States.

Block: Waterends 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.

Gallery

Base of Tower Fall with rainbow-750px.JPG

Tower Fall in Yellowstone National Park, USA
Godafoss in Iceland
Angel Falls, Venezuela
Wailua Falls in Hawaii, USA
Dettifoss in Iceland
Man-made waterfall at the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra, Australia
Waterfall near Brienzersee, Switzerland
Earthen Dam Waterfall in Waverly, New York, USA
Kaieteur.jpg

Kaieteur Falls in Guyana
Niagara Falls, on the border between Canada and the USA
A small part of the Krimml Falls, Austria. Scale is given by the people on the right
Burney Falls, located near Burney, California, USA