International Waterfall Day

Waterfalls are among the most amazing natural sights in the world, so it is not surprising that there is a holiday celebrating them. International Waterfall Day is observed annually on June 16.

The term “waterfall” typically refers to a point in a river or stream where water flows over a steep drop that is vertical or almost vertical. Waterfalls usually form in the upper course of a river where the river flows over a stretch of hard rock such as granite and then falls on to softer rock like limestone: the soft rock is more susceptible to erosion, which leads to an increasingly high fall. This is the most common way of waterfall formation, but not the only one.

No two waterfalls in the world are exactly the same, but they can be roughly divided into types based on their shape. The most common waterfall types are ledge (further divided into subtypes: classical, curtain and block/sheet/rectangular), plunge, horsetail, punchbowl, tiered (staircase, multi-step), segmented, cascade, and cataract. The so-called ephemeral waterfalls are different from other waterfalls in that they only flow after a significant snowmelt or rain.

The exact number of waterfalls in the world is unknown, but there are thousands of them. The World Waterfall Database was established in 2002 to provide an accurate record of the world’s waterfalls, but even now, more than two decades later, it is far from being complete and lacks information about a lot of countries.

Niagara Falls on the border of Canada and the United States is arguably the world’s most famous waterfall, but it’s not the tallest, largest, or most powerful one. The world’s tallest uninterrupted waterfall is Angel Falls in Venezuela; it has a height of 3,212 feet and a plunge of 2,648 feet. The world’s widest waterfall (6.7 miles or 35,376 feet) is the Khone Phapheng Falls in Laos.

 

Other famous and notable waterfalls include Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and Zambia, Yosemite Falls in the United States, Gullfoss in Iceland, Plitvice Falls in Croatia, Sutherland Falls and Browne Falls in

New Zealand, Rhine Falls in Switzerland, Tugela Falls in South Africa, Igazu Falls on the border of Argentina and Brazil, Kaieteur Falls in Guyana, Kunchikal Falls in India, Bigar Cascade Falls in Romania, and many more.

 

Waterfalls have a symbolic meaning and play an important role in many cultures, so it is not surprising that someone decided to celebrate them. International Waterfall Day was launched in 2020 by a man named Bob Matthews from Rochester, New York. Bob and his wife love waterfalls and check them out wherever they go. The couple came up with the idea of celebrating a holiday dedicated to waterfalls during the COVID-19 lockdown, when they were stuck at home and couldn’t take trips to see waterfalls.

There are many ways to celebrate International Waterfall Day. You can learn more about the world’s highest, widest, largest, and most spectacular waterfalls, take or at least plan a trip to a waterfall, and spread the word about the holiday with the hashtags #InternationalWaterfallDay and #WaterfallDay to encourage others to admire the beauty of waterfalls.