WATERFALLS (Syllabus GS Paper 1 – Gography)

Context: Recently, scenic park operators in China's Henan province had to admit that the nation's tallest waterfall received assistance from a pipe due to recent insufficient rainfall.

Waterfalls 

• About: A waterfall is a river or other body of water's steep fall over a rocky ledge into a plunge pool below. Waterfalls are also called cascades.

o The process of erosion, the wearing away of earth, plays an important part in the formation of waterfalls. Waterfalls themselves also contribute to erosion.

• Types: Punchbowl Waterfalls, Plunge Waterfalls, Multi-step Waterfalls, Horsetail Waterfalls, Frozen Waterfalls, Fan Waterfalls, Chutes, Cataracts, Cascades, and Block Waterfalls.
• Largest waterfall in India by volume: Vajrai Waterfall is the tallest waterfall of India. It is origin of river Urmodi. The waterfall is situated in district of Satara in western Maharashtra.

o Kunchikal Falls (Shimoga district, Karnataka) is India's highest waterfall in India.

• World’s Largest waterfall: Angel Fall, Venezuela
• World’s Tallest Waterfall: Niagara Falls (border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States).
• Asia’s largest fall: Ban Gioc Falls is the largest waterfall in Asia and the fourth largest waterfall along an international border, with only the Iguazu Falls, Victoria Falls and Niagara Falls larger than it.