1. Chutes de Khone
Chutes de Khone – also known at Khone Falls – is the largest waterfall in the world. At 35,376 feet wide, it’s almost twice the width of it next largest competitor. The falls are part of the Mekong river in Laos, and occur where the river splits into seven large channels and many more smaller ones. It’s made up of several different rapids and falls, cascading down 69 feet. The most defined part of the waterfall is a 45-foot drop, at a 60 degree angle.
2. Salto Para
Salto Para, or Para Falls, is an 18,400-foot wide waterfall on the Rio Caura in the Bolivar region of Venezuela. These half-moon shaped falls are formed where two parts of the river come together and drop down almost 200 feet, each side of a lush, green jungle island.
3. Chutes Kongou
Also known as Kongou Falls, Chutes Kongou measures 10,500 feet wide, making it the world’s third largest existing waterfall. It’s part of the Ivindo River in Gabon, and is roughly 185 feet tall. Amongst the most powerful waterfalls in the world, roughly 31,800 cubic feet of water flow down it each second. These falls are truly a sight to behold, nestled amongst dense, equatorial rainforests. Kongou Falls is located within the Ivindo National Park, which was set up to protect the biodiversity of the Ivindo River.
4. Vermilion Falls
Although Vermilion Falls does not drop from an impressive height, falling only 15 to 20 feet, it is the sixth biggest waterfall in the world, in terms of width, as it spans 6,000 feet across. It’s located along Peace River, in Northern Alberta, Canada, which is an otherwise still and, as the name suggests, peaceful river. It’s likely that the rural nature of its location has stopped it from becoming too well known or much of a tourist attraction. However, if you can make it out there, it’s an impressive sight to behold.
5. Inga Falls
Inga Falls, a 3,000-foot wide waterfall, is located on the Congo River, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It’s a series of falls and rapids, which drops around 315 feet, but very gradually over a run of roughly 9 miles. However, the main, and most impressive, part of the falls drops around 70 feet in one go. There are hundreds of channels in these falls, separated out by a multitude of large rocks and small islands.
6. Niagara Falls
Despite being relatively low on the list of the world’s largest falls, Niagara Falls is undoubtedly the best known waterfall on the planet. It receives somewhere between 14 and 20 million visitors annually and has been the location for many foolhardy and daring feats, such as that performed by Annie Edson Taylor, who was the first person to survive a trip over the Niagara Falls in a barrel.At 3,950 feet wide, it’s far from the largest waterfall around, but it is the falls with the largest volume of water traveling through it. It has three separate parts: American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and Horseshoe, or Canadian, Falls.
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