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A waterfall occurs when water flows over a vertical drop, when a river's elevation drops, when a river has to pass over an obstacle, such as rocks or uneven ground or from melt water at the edge of an ice shelf. Waterfalls are categorised into eleven types, they are:
BLOCK - is formed by a wide river giving way to a wide fall of water.
CASCADE - is formed by water descending over a series of many rocks.
CATARACT - is formed by a large volume of high velocity water.
CHUTE - is formed by a high volume of water falling through a narrow gap.
FAN - is formed when water spreads, fan like,and falls horizontally.
HORSETAIL - is formed when the falling water remains in contact with the river's bedrock.
PLUNGE - is formed from water with a vertical flow losing contact with any underlying bedrock.
PUNCHBOWL - is formed from a constricted flow of water which then spreads out into a wider drop
SEGMENTED - is formed from a distinct separate flow of several channels of water.
TIERED - is formed when water falls over several tiered steps or levels.
MULTI STEP - formed by several waterfalls above one another each with their own separate drop pool.
A B C D
A - Sipi Falls, Uganda - Plunge.
B - Niagara Falls, USA - Block.
C - Fukuroda Falls, Japan - Multi step.
D - Sava Bohinjka, Norway - Horsetail.
A B C D
A - Nunobiki Falls, Japan - Punchbowl.
B - Lushington Falls, India - Segmented.
C - Alexander Falls, Canada - Tiered.
D - Cola de Caballo, Mexico - Fan.
THE BRITISH ISLES' MOST IMPRESSIVE WATERFALLS
Image courtesy of Colin Price, wikimedia commons
The tallest waterfall found in the British Isles is the Eas a Chual Alluinn, located in Assynt near Sutherland in Scotland. With a drop of two hundred meters, this tiered waterfall is formed by a small stream as it flows into Loch Beag below.
England's tallest waterfall is Cautley Spout, located on Howgill Fell, Cumbria. With a drop of one hundred and seventy five meters, this cascade waterfall is formed from waters of Red Gill Beck as it tumbles over Cautley Crag.
Image courtesy of Dorin Rodina, wikimedia commons
Ireland's tallest waterfall is the Powerscourt Falls, located at Enniskerry, County Wicklow. This one hundred and twenty one meter high, fan waterfall, formed by water from the twelve mile long, River Dargle, is situated on the forty six acre, Powerscourt Country Estate.
The tallest waterfall in Wales is the Devil's Appendix, located in the Snowdonia National Park on Mount Snowden. With a drop of ninety three meters this plunge waterfall is formed from a small stream making it's way over the Clogwyn y Geifr Cliffs into Llyn Idwall below.
Image courtesy of John Wordham - www.geograph.org.uk/photo/31691
The tallest waterfall on the Isle of Man is the forty meter high fan waterfall known as Ineen Vooar. The falls are formed by a stream flowing down the side of Dhoon Glen, which makes up part of the five hundred and sixty one meter high, North Barrule, situated near the village of Maughold on the island's north east coast.
Image courtesy of Kateshortforbob, wikimedia commons
The Waterfall Walkway is s three mile long series of cascade waterfalls which form part of the two thousand, nine hundred and twenty eight acre, Glenariff Forest Park. located in County Antrim, in Northen Ireland. The falls are formed from water from the River Glenariff as it plunges over the steep sided gorges of the Antrim Glens.
Image courtesy of Les Hull, wikimedia commons
High Force Waterfall in County Durham is a plunge waterfall with a twenty one meter drop. The falls are formed by the River Tees plunging over an igneous precipice which forms part of Whin Sill, a vast feature of the North Pennine Mountain Range.
Image courtesy of Wojciech Rozanski - www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2578133
Gaping Gill Waterfall is a plunge waterfall caused by rainwater flowing into the ninety one meter deep natural cave known as Gaping Gill, situated on the southern slope of Ingleborough, a seven hundred and twenty three meter high mountain situated in the Yorkshire Dales. This feature is classified as England's tallest unbroken waterfall.
The Sgwd Henrhyd Waterfall has a drop of twenty seven meters. The falls, which are located in the Brecon Beacons National Park in South Wales, are formed by the two mile long, Nant Llech River, plunging over a sandstone cliff known as Farewell Rock.
Image courtesy of Trevor Rickard, wikimedia commons
The Mynach River Falls, better known as the Devil's Bridge Waterfall, is a plunge waterfall formed by the River Mynach plunging over a ravine, where it then meets with the River Rheidol, ninety meters below. The falls are located at Devil's Bridge in Ceredigion, North Wales. The village gets it's name from the formation of three bridges, one on top of the other, which span the River Mynach. The first bridge, a stone bridge constructed in medival times, was then used as a scaffold to build the second bridge, another stone bridge built in 1753. In 1901this bridge was then replaced by the construction of an iron bridge. The bridge is positioned over the ravine where the waterfall plunges from the River Mynach into the River Rheidol.
Image courtesy of Jamsta - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jamsta
The Golitha Falls are a series of spectacular cascade waterfalls found on the River Fowey in Cornwall. The falls, which are formed by the fast flowing river plunging over the side of a steep sided valley, form part of the Golitha Falls National Nature Reserve, situated on the southern limits of Bodmin Moor.
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