Gavarnie Falls

Gavarnie Falls
Gavarnie Falls
Location	Hautes-Pyrénées (France)
Coordinates	42°41′36″N 0°00′16″W / 42.69333°N 0.00444°W / 42.69333; -0.00444
Elevation	~ 2 200 m
Total height	422 m
Number of drops	2
Longest drop	281 m
Total width	15 m
Watercourse	Gave de Pau

The Gavarnie Falls (French: Grande Cascade de Gavarnie) is a tiered waterfall in France. With its overall drop of 422 metres, it is the highest waterfall in mainland France.^{[citation needed]} The falls are situated in the Cirque de Gavarnie, near the village Gavarnie in the Hautes-Pyrénées.

The waterfall is the beginning of the Gave de Pau stream. It is fed by a melting snow and a small glacier, located in Spain. This water seeps underground until it appears at the upper rim of waterfall. The average annual flow in the waterfall is 3 m³/s. In summer, when the snowmelt is most intense, it can reach up to 200 m³/s.^[1] In winter it sometimes freezes and stops flowing.

The waterfall has 2 - 3 steps; the height of the tallest drop is 281 m.

• 
  Cirque de Gavarnie, with the waterfall to the left
• 
  Centre of the cirque in summer
• 
  Wider view of Cirque de Gavarnie