Iguazu Falls

Iguazú Falls or Iguaçu Falls are waterfalls of the Iguazu River on the border of the
Argentine province of Misiones and the Brazilian state of Paraná. Together, they
make up the largest waterfall in the world. The falls divide the river into the upper
and lower Iguazu. The Iguazu River rises near the heart of the city of Curitiba.

The staircase character of the falls consists of a two-step waterfall formed by

three layers of basalt. The steps are 35 and 40 metres (115 and 131 ft) in height.
The columnar basalt rock sequences are part of the 1,000-metre-thick (3,300 ft)
Serra Geral Formation within the Paleozoic-Mesozoic Paraná Basin. The tops of
these sequences are characterized by 8–10 m (26–33 ft) of highly resistant
vesicular basalt and the contact between these layers controls the shape of the
falls.

The Devil's Throat canyon is 80–90 m (260–300 ft) wide and 70–80 m (230–260 ft)
deep. Left of this canyon, another part of the river forms 160-200 individual falls,
which merge into a single front during flood stage. The largest falls are named San
Martín, Adam and Eva, Penoni, and Bergano.[4]

About 900 m (2,950 ft) of the 2.7 km (1.7 mi) length does not have water flowing
over it. The water of the lower Iguazu collects in a canyon that drains into the
Paraná River, a short distance downstream from the Itaipu Dam. The junction of
the water flows marks the border between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay

The Iguazu Falls are arranged in a way that resembles a reversed letter "J". The
Argentina–Brazil border runs through the Devil's Throat. On the right bank is the
Brazilian territory, which is home to more than 95% of the Iguazu River basin but
has just over 20% of the jumps of these falls, and the left side jumps are
Argentine, which makes up almost 80% of the falls.
 Size and flow rate of  Iguazu

Height in meters and 64–82 m

feet:[ 210–269 ft

Width in meters and 2,700 m

feet: 8,858 ft

Flow rate units (vol/s)

m3/s
cu ft/s

Mean annual flow rate 1,746

61,600

Highest recorded flow 45,700

1,614,000

For water, cubic metres per second = tonnes per second Iguazu has two drops;
height given for biggest drop and total height.

The name "Iguazú" comes from the Guarani or Tupi words "y" [ɨ], meaning
"water", and "ûasú "[waˈsu], meaning "big".[3] Legend has it that a deity planned
to marry a beautiful woman named Naipí, who fled with her mortal lover Tarobá
in a canoe. In a rage, the deity sliced the river, creating the waterfalls and
condemning the lovers to an eternal fall.[3] The first European to record the
existence of the falls was the Spanish Conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
in 1541.