Notes on India’s highest waterfalls might help you ace the static general awareness component of numerous competitive exams. Static general awareness is a part of most government exams. Candidates preparing for various government exams such as SSC, RRB, Bank, RBI Grade B, SBI Clerk, SBI PO, SEBI Grade A, and others are expected to come across 1 or 2 questions about India’s waterfalls. In this article, we are going to discuss the types of waterfalls, a list of waterfalls in India, and the highest waterfall.

What is a Waterfall?

A waterfall is a steep descent of a river or other body of water over a rocky ledge. Waterfalls are one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. They are perfect places for spending hours absorbing up the true splendour of the natural world, owing to their coolness, sound, and aroma. The wonderful part of exploring nature is that we always come away with a lot of questions about the science underlying it. The same is true of a waterfall. When we look at it, we are often startled by the way it works, the flow and motion that is so captivating.

Formation of a Waterfall

As a river flows through its stream bed, the water erodes the movable soil, sand, stones, boulders, and other things beneath it, causing them to move along with the current. As it continues on its path, it comes across massive rocks that cannot be moved, so it begins to flow over them, obliterating its original boundaries.

This is an excellent illustration of the second law of thermodynamics, which states that things are likely to incline more to a disordered state. That’s essentially how the river water acts here. It obliterates its original path and continues to flow outside of its boundaries until it reaches a cliff or an edge. Then it plummets down the cliff and crashes into a recently formed riverbed.

This is how a new dip and a waterfall are created.

List of Waterfalls in India

Types of Waterfalls in India

• Plunge: Plunge waterfalls are vertically flowing waterfalls that do not touch the underlying cliff wall. Water descends vertically, losing contact with the bedrock surface.
• Horsetail: Waterfalls with a “horsetail” shape tend to fan out as they descend a steep slope while remaining in contact with the underlying cliff face. Descending water maintains some contact with bedrock.
• Fan: This category’s waterfalls are very similar to the Horsetail. The waterfalls all have one thing in common: they plummet and tumble down a steep slope while staying in constant contact with the underlying cliff. Water spreads horizontally as it descends while remaining in contact with bedrock.
• Cataract: A big, strong waterfall known as a cataract. Waterfalls in this category basically descend along a sloped surface.
• Block: Water descends from a reasonably wide stream or river, forming a block. Sometimes called rectangular waterfalls. 
• Multi-step: A succession of approximately equal-sized waterfalls, each with its own sunken plunge pool
• Segmented: As the water lowers, it separates into distinct streams. This category of waterfalls involves the descending watercourse splitting up into two or more parallel segments or threads.
• Cascade: Water descends down a series of rock steps
• Punchbowl: Water descends in a constricted form before spreading out into a larger pool
• Tiered: Water drops in a sequence of distinct stages or falls which are called tiers

Highest waterfall in India 

Kunchikal Falls in Shimoga District Karnataka is the highest waterfall in India with a height of 1493 feet. It lies in the Shimoga district of Karnataka near Agumbe. The Varahi River creates the largest waterfall. Agumbe Valley is one of India’s rainiest regions, and it is home to the country’s only permanent rain forest research station.

Most Popular Waterfalls of the World

Angel Falls located in Venezuela is 979 metres in height, is the ‘s largest waterfall. Niagara Falls, one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world, is just 51 meters tall. Iguazu Falls and Victoria Falls are two other well-known waterfalls.

The physics of a waterfall can also be seen in other places, such as a hydropower plant that uses falling water to generate kinetic energy. The energy drives the turbines, which generate power that can be utilized right away or stored.

Key Facts About Waterfalls

• Athirapally waterfalls, located in Kerala is called the Niagara of India
• The “Cascata delle Marmore” located in the province of Terni, Italy is a man-made waterfall created by the ancient Romans. It has a total height of 541 feet (165 metres), making it the world’s tallest artificial waterfall.
• The tallest waterfall in the United States is Yosemite Falls, which is located in California. It has a vertical drop of 739 metres or 2425 ft.
• Kaieteur Falls, in Guyana’s jungle (Amazon RainForest, Brazil), is the world’s greatest single drop water cascade based on the amount of water flowing over it. Its average water flow rate is 663 cubic metres per second or 23,400 cubic feet per second.
• Ban Gioc – Detian Falls, on the border between Vietnam and China, ranks fourth among the world’s greatest cross-border waterfalls. It is preceded by Niagara, Victoria, and Iguazu Falls. It stands at a height of 98 feet (30 metres).
• Horsetail Falls is located in Yosemite National Park in California. When the sun sets in the second week of February, the ray hits the waterfall at just the correct angle, turning the water red and orange. This rare natural phenomenon is known worldwide as the Firefall.
• Waterfalls can be grouped into 10 broad classes based on the average volume of water going overfalls. Class 10 waterfalls include Niagara Falls, Khone Falls and Inga Falls. Victoria Falls (Class 9), Gullfoss (Class 8), Angel Falls (Class 7), Yosemite Falls (Class 6), Sutherland Falls (Class 5).

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