Angel Falls

Angel Falls
Salto Ángel
Kerepakupai Vená
Angel Falls, Bolívar State, Venezuela
Angel Falls is located in Venezuela
Angel Falls
Location in Venezuela
Map
LocationAuyán-tepui, Canaima National Park, Bolívar State, Venezuela
Coordinates5°58′03″N 62°32′08″W / 5.96750°N 62.53556°W / 5.96750; -62.53556
TypePlunges
Total height979 m (3,212 ft)
Number of drops2
Longest drop807 m (2,648 ft)
WatercourseRio Kerepacupai Merú
World height ranking1[1]
Aerial view of Dragon Falls (Churún Merú), a waterfall 10 km south of Angel Falls at 5°52′32″N 62°32′07″W / 5.87556°N 62.53528°W / 5.87556; -62.53528

Angel Falls (Spanish: Salto Ángel; Pemon: Kerepakupai Merú or Parakupá Vená) is a waterfall in Venezuela. It is the world's tallest uninterrupted waterfall, with a height of 979 metres (3,212 ft), and a plunge of 807 m (2,648 ft). The waterfall drops over the edge of the Auyán-tepui mountain in the Canaima National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Canaima), a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Gran Sabana region of Bolívar State. The height figure, 979 m (3,212 ft), mostly consists of the main plunge but also includes about 400 metres (1,300 ft) of sloped cascade and rapids below the drop and a 30-metre-high (100 ft) plunge downstream of the talus rapids.

The falls are along a fork of the Río Kerepacupai Merú which flows into the Churún River, a tributary of the Carrao River, itself a tributary of the Orinoco River.

With regard to overall height, a revisited validation of waterfall measurements is not available, and there is still uncertainty whether Angel Falls or South Africa's Tugela Falls is the tallest (both measurements were taken at considerable distance from the two waterfalls).[2]

  1. ^ "Angel Falls". Encyclopædia Britannica. 17 November 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  2. ^ "World's tallest waterfalls by total overall height". World Waterfall Database. Retrieved 20 February 2013.