Iguazú Falls spans hundreds of waterfalls straddling Brazil and Argentina. This breathtaking natural wonder captivates visitors with its immense power, beauty, and surrounding wildlife.
Iguazú Falls
Iguazú Falls is wider than Victoria Falls, but the latter has the largest single curtain of water. Iguazú’s water spreads over many smaller falls.
During the rainy season, water flow can reach 450,000 cubic feet per second. That equals about 3.4 million US gallons every second.
The name “Iguazú” means “big water” in the local indigenous language.
The “Devil’s Throat” is the most famous part of Iguazú Falls. It is 260 degrees wide and today’s roar can be heard miles away.
More than half of the river’s flow drops into the Devil’s Throat, making it a powerful focal point.
A volcanic eruption cracked the earth, creating the cliffs where the waterfalls now tumble.
According to legend, a snake god created the falls to punish a fleeing couple, condemning them to fall forever.
The total number of falls within Iguazú changes with water levels, anywhere from 150 to 300.
Rare jaguars, called yaguaretés, live in the jungle around the falls but are rarely seen.
Iguazú Falls is wider and taller than Niagara but has less water flow.
The falls have appeared in movies like Indiana Jones and the James Bond film Moonraker.
The first European to see the falls called them the “Waterfalls of Santa Maria” in the 1500s.
Iguazú’s national park shelters strange animals like coatis, toucans, and marsupials usually found only in Australia.
You can stay overnight in hotels inside the national parks on both the Argentine and Brazilian sides.
Small islands divide the waterfalls into many cataracts that visitors explore by foot and boat.
