Kaieteur Falls
Kaieteur | |
---|---|
Location | Guyana |
Coordinates | 5°10′30″N 59°28′49.8″W / 5.17500°N 59.480500°W |
Type | Plunge |
Total height | 741 feet/226 metres |
Number of drops | 1 (highest flow single drop waterfall of the world) |
Longest drop | 741 feet/226 metres |
Average width | 371 feet/113 metres |
Watercourse | Potaro River |
Average flow rate | 660 m3/s (23,000 cu ft/s) |
World height ranking | 123 |
Kaieteur Falls is a single-drop
.Upriver from the falls, the
Pakaraima Mountains. The Potaro River empties into the Essequibo River
which is the 34th longest river in South America and the longest river in Guyana.
History and discovery
Long known about by Indigenous nations in the area, the falls were noticed by Europeans in 1870 by a party led by
James Sawkins had arrived in Georgetown
in 1867, and while they did some of their mapping and preparation of geological reports together, some work was performed in separate expeditions, and Sawkins was taking a break from his work at the time of Brown's discovery of Kaieteur. At this point, Brown did not have time to investigate Kaieteur Falls closely, so he returned one year later to make comprehensive measurements. Brown's book Canoe and Camp life in British Guiana was published in 1876. Two years later, in 1878, he published Fifteen Thousand Miles on the Amazon and its tributaries.
According to a
Patamona Indian legend, Kaieteur Falls was named for Kai, a chief, or Toshao who acted to save his people by paddling over the falls in an act of self-sacrifice to Makonaima
, the great spirit. Another legend though was told to Brown by Amerindians in the night of discovery of falls: Kaieteur has been named after an unpleasant old man who was placed in a boat and shoved in the fall by his relatives. Thus, the fall was named "Kaieteur", which means "old-man-fall".
Tourism
Kaieteur Falls is a major tourist attraction in Guyana. It is in
Ogle Airport and Cheddi Jagan International Airport
in Georgetown.
Popular culture
Kaieteur Falls is featured in:
- the documentary film The White Diamond by Werner Herzog and Animal Planet's River Monsters with Jeremy Wade.
- the science fiction animation television series G Gundam. The lead character trains and bathes under the falls before his final fight.
- the opening of the fourth season credits of the Discovery Channel's series "Gold Rush" (2013). It also features in the body of a few episodes of that season.
- episode 6 of David Attenborough's series Life on Earth in which the native frogs, which thrive in the moist conditions, are discussed.
- episode 1 of Deadly Adventureswhere Steve abseils to the bottom and camps overnight.
- the ending of the final episode of the fourth season of River Monsters features the falls.
- Evelyn Waugh's 1934 travel book, Ninety-two Days.
Gallery
-
Kaieteur Falls September 2007
-
Kaietur Falls in the Dry Season, Feb 2007
-
Kaieteur Falls, September 2007
-
Kaieteur Falls 2006
-
Kaieteur Falls December 2018
-
The impressive Kaieteur Falls
See also
References
- ^ "Kaieteur Falls - World Waterfall Database".
- ^ "Kaieteur Falls - World Waterfall Database". Archived from the original on 2017-10-10. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kaieteur Falls.
- Kaieteur National Park, home to Kaieteur Falls
- Kaieteur Falls
- Kaieteur Falls at Beautiful World