Salto Ángel, or simply Angel - the highest waterfall in the world. Despite such a name (which can be translated as “angel jump”), this phenomenon of nature has nothing in common with celestial creatures. The waterfall is named after its discoverer - not the first, by the way, but more famous: a pilot from the United States, whose name was James Crawford Angel. The English surname Angel in Spanish reads like Angel. In honor of the pilot, who flew over the waterfall in 1933, this natural object is included in the famous UNESCO List containing World Heritage Sites. The question arises: how could you not have noticed earlier this sparkling strip of water the height of three Eiffel towers? Below we will tell the story of the discovery of a hidden miracle of nature and find out its parameters.
What is the height of Angel Falls
This water stream is located in Venezuela, in the Canaima National Park. Its coordinates: 5 ° 58′03 ″ north latitude and 62 ° 32′08 ″ west longitude. Kanaima Park is interesting because it has amazing tepui mountains. They have very steep edges and flat tops. From one such high mountain called Auyantepui, the Angel Falls falls. The Kerepakupay River is not long in itself. It begins here, on the plateau of Devil’s Mountain (the name Auyantepui is translated). But the stream saturated with equatorial rains flows down from the steep edge completely steeply, from a height of nine hundred seventy-nine meters. If you look from below, it seems that the waterfall starts directly from the plateau. However, if you look closely, you can see that Kerepakupay cut through the layers of light red sandstone. So what is the height of the free fall of water in Angel Falls? Only eight hundred and seven meters. But this figure is very impressive. For comparison: Victoria Falls in South Africa is only 107 meters high.
Beautiful sight
The view of Salto Ángel is simply mesmerizing. The river rushes down a hundred meters. The height of the free fall of water in Angel Falls is such that the droplets scattered in flight turn into fog. Sometimes it can be felt for several kilometers. A dense suspension of fog is carried by the breeze, and only some of the water falls into the bowl of a small pond, from which the Churun River then flows. The width of the stream is one hundred and seven meters, and the water flow rate is three hundred cubic meters per second. Not far from Angel there is the Kanaima lagoon, where water from the surrounding waterfalls is collected. Behind the wall of one of them, Salto el Sapo, a large grotto hides, in which especially intense shots of the movie "The Last of the Mohicans" were shot.
Excursions to the sights of Venezuela
The significant height of the free fall of water in the Angel Falls attracts many travelers. And despite the fact that all the approaches to tepui are covered by the virgin jungle, the flow of tourists who want to see the “most-most” is not weakening. The easiest and fastest way is to take an air tour: after an American pilot fly over a waterfall and enjoy the sight from above. The only thing that can bother you is cloudy weather. Therefore, many tourists get to the foot of tepui by air. In Canaima, an airfield was equipped; nearby are many hotels and restaurants. Get to Angel and the river. First, by motorboat to the village of Canaima, and then about another three kilometers on foot through the jungle.
Angel discovery
Indians of the peemon tribe were there before, many centuries ago, it is known that there is such a wonderful waterfall. They called him Churun-Meru. After all, the height of the free fall of water in Angel Falls is such that it is difficult not to notice it even in the thickest selva! He is fifteen times taller than the famous Niagara. The whole world has admired the Empire State Building in New York. But Angel was two and a half times taller than this once-most magnificent skyscraper. Interestingly, the European discoverer was not at all an American pilot, but a scientist from Spain. His name is Ernesto Sanchos La Cruz. In nineteen ten, he reached the waterfall and announced his discovery in a specialized scientific journal. For the general public, a heart-rending story of the failure of the Flamingo aircraft was needed.
James Angel observed the waterfall in 1933, and in 1937 decided to land near it. The plane damaged the landing gear and stuck in marshy soil. The unsuccessful pilot, his wife Mary and two companions were not injured. But they had to leave the broken plane at the top of tepui, go down the steep slopes and in the course of eleven days to get to civilization.
Further History of Angel
In 1949, an expedition from the National Geographic Community of the United States approached the waterfall through a selva. Researchers have carefully measured the parameters of this miracle of nature. At that time, the height of the free fall of water in Angel Falls was also determined. Interestingly, the Flamingo aircraft stood at the scene of the accident for thirty-three years until it was taken by helicopter to the city of Maracay. There it was restored and now it adorns the airport of Ciudad Bolivar.
In 1993, UNESCO declared the waterfall a World Heritage Site. And in December 2009, the President of Venezuela decided to return this national landmark to its national old name. In his speech, Hugo Chavez emphasized that the waterfall was known under the name Kerepakupai-Meru before any American pilots. But on maps and atlases, he is still listed as Angel.