Angel Falls (Natural Wonders).pdf

a erhaps you have visited Niagara Falls, one of North America's largest

A Tumble of Water

waterfalls. Now picture Niagara eighteen times higher. You can begin

to imagine the breathtaking sight of the highest waterfall in the world,

Venezuela's Angel Falls.

Called Salto Ángel in Spanish, Angel Falls sends water tumbling more than

3,212 feet (979 meters) off a mountain cliff The water falls so far that it

makes a deafening roar as it

hits the rocks and water

below. As people approach

Angel Falls from a distance,

they say they hear its constant

"whoosh" from as far as 3

miles (4.8 kilometers) away.

Angel Falls pours off the

edge of a mountain called

Auyán Tepuy.The falls are

fed by the Churún River.

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Angel Falls Facts:

• Angel Falls stands 3,212 feet (979 m)

high, the highest waterfall in the

world. It is almost twice as high as

the world's tallest building.

• AuyánTepuy stands 8,400 feet

(2,560 m) above sea level.

• Angel Falls is part of Venezuela's

Canaima National Park.The park

features many other mountains

and waterfalls.

• Its longest uninterrupted drop is

2,648 feet (807 m)—also the

highest in the world.

Atlanlic

O c p a n

Natural Wonders

where in the World?

ngel Falls is located in Venezuela, one of the most northern countries

in South America. The waterfall and its mountain are part of the Gran

Sabana, where rolling savannah grasslands are interrupted by huge tepuys

(flat-topped mountains). The Gran Sabana is part of the larger Guayana

Highlands region. The highlands stretch from Venezuela to the southeast

and cross several countries' borders.

The rainy season in the Gran Sabana lasts from May to November. Clouds

blow in from the Atlantic Ocean, causing huge amounts of rain to fall on the

region. These sudden downpours help to feed the many rivers that crisscross

the land. Some of the rivers eventually empty at waterfalls. There are

hundreds of waterfalls in the region, but none is as amazing as Angel Falls.

9 Some 965,000 square miles (2.5 million sq km) of savannah cover Venezuela

and other South American countries.

Angel Falls may be the highest waterfall, but nearby Roraima

Tepuy is the highest mountain in the Guayana Highlands. The

stunning mountain is surrounded by jungles containing strange

and rare wildlife. Many plants that grow here are found no place

else on Earth.

Some people exploring Roraima feel as if they have stepped into a

prehistoric age. That very idea inspired British author Sir Arthur

Conan Doyle to write his 1912 novel The Lost World. In the book,

a group of explorers discover a land of dinosaurs and ape-men on

the mountain. Today, people often refer to the entire Gran Sabana

as the "lost world."

Roraima Tepuy's

immense flat top

ranges for 26 square

miles (67 sq km).

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