

Photograph by ENT108

At fifteen times the height of Niagara Falls, Angel Falls is the highest in the world. Just how tall is it? How did it get its name? Did someone seriously BASE jump from the top? Littered amongst the stunning images below you will find the answers. Enjoy!

Angel Falls is the world’s highest waterfall, with a height of 979 meters (3,212 ft) and a plunge of 807 meters (2,647 ft)



Photograph by Stingrayintl

It is located in the Canaima National Park, an UNESCO World Heritage site in the Gran Sabana region of Bolivar State, Venezuela. It is one of the country’s top tourist destinations despite its isolated location



Photograph by One Off Man Mental

Did you know the height of the falls is so great, that before getting anywhere near the ground, the water is atomized by the strong winds and turned into mist? The mist can be felt a mile (1.6 km) away!



The base of the falls feeds into the Kerep River (alternatively known as the Rio Gauya), which flows into the Churun River, a tributary of the Carrao River



Photograph by Teen Wolf

Why is it called Angel Falls?

Apparently, the falls were not known to the outside world until American aviator Jimmie Angel flew over them on November 16, 1933 during a flight searching for a valuable ore bed. Returning on October 9, 1937, Angel tried to land his Flamingo monoplane, El Rio Caroni atop the mountain, but the plane was damaged when the wheels sank into the marshy ground. He and his three companions, including his wife Marie, were then forced to descend the mountain on foot. It took them 11 days to make their way back to civilization, but news of their adventure spread, and the waterfall was named Angel Falls in his honor. Angel’s plane remained on top of the mountaintop for 33 years before being lifted out by helicopter. It was restored at the Aviation Museum in Maracay and now sits outdoors on the front of the airport at Ciudad Bolívar.



Photograph by Tom Sanders via Edjane Obama

Have people actually BASE jumped from the top of Angel Falls? Yes! Video proof can be found below:

Did you know current President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, wants to strip the name ‘Angel Falls’ in favour of an indigenous one? “How could we accept this idea that the falls were discovered by a guy who came from the United States in a plane. If we do that, that would be like accepting that nobody was living here,” Chavez mused on his weekly radio and television show, “Hello Mr President.” – source: Yahoo! News

Sources

– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_Falls

– http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091221/sc_afp/environmentvenezuelapoliticsnative

And what would a natural wonder be without the soothing voice of Sir David Attenborough? Check out the glorious scene below from my all-time favourite nature series Planet Earth. This will undoubtedly be removed by YouTube very shortly, so enjoy while you can!











If you enjoyed this article, the Sifter highly recommends: The Most Popular Tourist Destination in Croatia









