New 7 Natural Wonders of the World

New Seven Wonders of Nature-One of 28 nominees. Winners will be announced in 2011.

 

Iguazu Falls
Brazil, Argentina, South America
New Seven Wonders of Nature
Coordinates: 25° 41' 43 S, 54° 26' 12 W
Above the falls, islands and islets spread the river into numerous flows that feed the cataracts. A major portion of the river tumbles into a narrow, semicircular chasm called the Garganta do Diabo (Spanish: Garganta del Diablo [“Devil's Throat”]); the effect has been described as that of “an ocean plunging into an abyss.” Excellent views of this section (also called Union Falls) can be obtained from both the Brazilian and Argentine sides.
Iguaza Falls Slideshow	Iguazú Falls, on the Argentinian border with Brazil [1]

 

Iguazu Falls, Iguassu Falls, or Iguaçu Falls are waterfalls of the Iguazu River located on the border of the Brazilian state of Paraná and the Argentine province of Misiones. The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu.

Legend has it that a god planned to marry a beautiful aborigine named Naipí, who fled with her mortal lover Tarobá in a canoe. In rage, the god sliced the river creating the waterfalls, condemning the lovers to an eternal fall.[ The first European to find the falls was the Spanish Conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in 1541, after whom one of the falls in the Argentine side is named. The falls were rediscovered by Boselli at the end of the nineteenth century, and one of the Argentine falls is named after him.

Geography

Iguazu FallsThe waterfall system consists of 275 falls along 2.7 kilometers (1.67 miles) of the Iguazu River. Position is at latitude (DMS): 25° 40' 60 S, longitude (DMS): 54° 25' 60 W . Some of the individual falls are up to 82 meters (269 ft) in height, though the majority are about 64 metres (210 ft). The Devil's Throat (Garganta del Diablo in Spanish or Garganta do Diabo in Portuguese), a U-shaped, 82-meter-high, 150-meter-wide and 700-meter-long (490 by 2300 feet) cataract, is the most impressive of all, and marks the border between Argentina and Brazil. Two thirds of the falls are within Argentine territory. [1] About 900 meters of the 2.7-kilometer length does not have water flowing over it. The edge of the basalt cap recedes only 3 mm per year. The water of the lower Iguazu collects in a canyon that drains into the Paraná River at Argentina, shortly downstream from the Itaipu dam.

Access

Walkways allows close view of the fallsThe falls can be reached from the two main towns on either side of the falls: Foz do Iguaçu in the Brazilian state of Paraná, and Puerto Iguazú in the Argentine province of Misiones as well as from Ciudad del Este (Paraguay) on the other side of the Parana river from Foz do Iguaçu. The falls are shared by the Iguazú National Park (Argentina) and Iguaçu National Park (Brazil). These parks were designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1984 and 1986, respectively.

On the Brazilian side there is a long walkway along the canyon with an extension to the lower base of the Devil's Throat. The Argentine access is facilitated by the Tren Ecológico de la Selva (Rainforest Ecological Train), which brings visitors to different walkways. The Paseo Garganta del Diablo is a one-kilometer-long trail that brings the visitor directly over the falls of the Devil's Throat. Other walkways allow access to the elongated stretch of falls on the Argentine side and to the ferry that connects to the San Martin island.[2]

The fall area provides opportunities for water sports and rock climbing.