But unfortunately mass tourism is beginning to threaten the natural beauty of the site. There are also helicopter rides, bungee jumping, and national parks on both sides. The world-renowned Devil’s Pool is a seemingly precarious place to take a dip at the top of the falls. It is preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under both names. The waterfall is also known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya, which translates as “the smoke that thunders.” It was named by David Livingstone, the first European believed to have seen the falls, who named it in honor of Queen Victoria. The falls are formed when the river lowers in a single drop. So it is technically located in both countries– Livingstone, Zambia and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Victoria Falls is formed by the Zambezi River, which creates a natural border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. But it is sometimes considered the world’s biggest waterfall because it is both tall (354 feet) and wide (5,600 feet), producing the overall biggest sheet of falling water. One of Africa’s top tourist attractions, Victoria Falls is neither the widest or tallest waterfall in the world. READ MORE: The 20 Longest Rivers in the World (By Continent) Tourists in the Devil’s Pool, Victoria Falls by Ian Restall at en.wikipedia, from Wikimedia Victoria Falls It’s also close to Livingstone Falls, which is often considered the most beautiful part of the Congo River, as well as the second largest waterfall in the world by volume. Inga Falls is the site of one of the world’s largest hydroelectric dams. It does, however, have one steep drop of around 70 feet, which indisputably makes it a waterfall. It’s also exceptionally wide, with an average width of 3,000 feet and a maximum width of over 2.5 miles! At its widest, the falls separate into hundreds of different channels and rivulets.ĭespite the fact that it is regularly designated as the world’s largest waterfall by volume, many consider the majority of it to be nothing more than rapids. Though it drops only 315 feet, Inga Falls is over 9 miles long.
But Inga Falls is remarkable for some of its other noteworthy features as well. It’s considered the largest waterfall in the world by volume, moving at a rate of over 900,000 cubic feet per second. It’s formed by the Congo River, which is ranked as the ninth longest river in the world. READ MORE: 20 Largest Lakes in the World by Continent (For Your World Travel Bucket List) THE WORLD’S BIGGEST WATERFALLSīIGGEST WATERFALLS IN AFRICA Victoria Falls (Photo by otsuka88 courtesy Pixabay) Inga Falls & Livingstone Fallsįrequently listed among the largest waterfalls in the world, Inga Falls is located in the Democratic Republic of Congo. So, in the interest of being as thorough as possible, our list of the largest waterfalls in the world goes far, wide, high, low, and in-between to point out the best waterfalls in the world travelers should visit on each and every continent. There really is no right or wrong answer… nor are the largest waterfalls always the most impressive to see.
#Highest waterfall in the world free
So, when we say “the biggest waterfalls,” how do we judge? Are we talking about the tallest waterfall? The widest waterfall? The largest waterfall in the world by volume? The longest waterfall in the world that free falls? We rarely think of the widest waterfall in the world, but that’s another way of measuring them. Some of the most voluminous falls drop just a few feet. Some of the tallest waterfalls in the world are fed by small streams, with just a tiny sliver of water careening down. Of course, measuring the biggest waterfalls in the world is complicated.
Waterfalls can form cascades, horsetails, plunges, cataracts, fans, squares, and even be frozen.Įach type is different, and each category has its own superstars when it comes to attracting tourism. While most of us have a particular image of what a waterfall looks like, there are actually many types of waterfalls. Even ice-cold Antarctica has a famous waterfall! Countries like New Zealand and Norway are known for the volume of waterfalls they offer.Īrgentina/Brazil and Zambia/Zimbabwe are known for the sheer size of their waterfalls, while Japan’s falls are renowned for their beauty. You’ll find waterfalls on every single continent. Despite R&B legends TLC’s classic admonition not to go chasing them, waterfalls remain among those magical natural features that can put a given destination on millions of people’s world travel bucket lists.
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