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Kaieteur Falls Facts
- Kaieteur Falls is a magnificent high-volume waterfall and also forms a central part of the Kaieteur National Park within the Essequibo Territory, Guyana. The falls are also situated in the middle of Guyana’s rainforest.
- The Potaro River supplies this marvel of geology and flows from the escarpment of the Pakaraima Mountains while eventually flowing into the Essequibo River. The river is among the widest and longest rivers in all of South America.
- The name of the falls comes from a local legend which narrates that an unpleasant old man was once placed in a boat and shoved over the falls by his relatives. Therefore, the fall’s name is Kaieteur which literally means old man fall.
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Kaieteur Falls Physical Description
Kaieteur Falls sits at an elevation of about 4,380 ft (1,335 m). It is a single drop waterfall and also ranks as the 123rd highest waterfall on earth.
The waters of this incredible site also plunge roughly 741 ft (226 m) to the rocks below.
Though not among the tallest, it has one of the highest volumes of all known waterfalls. It generates an average flow rate of roughly 23,400 cubic ft (663 cubic meters) per second.
This incredible rate of flow gives it the 19th greatest flow rate of any known waterfall.
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Kaieteur Falls Geology
Kaieteur Falls flows over a cliff composed primarily of sandstone. At the bottom of the plunge, the water flows over a series of steep cascades.
If taken as part of the measurements, they give Kaieteur Falls a total drop of about 882 ft (251 m). The width of the falls measures around 500 ft (152 m).
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