Waterfall

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

or CATARACT, the leap of a stream over a ledge or precipice occurring in its course. Many waterfalls are remarkable for their sublimity, the grandest being the Falls of Niagara, on the Ni Niagara river, between Lakes Erie and Ontario, the river having here a fall of about 160 feet. Among other notable falls are those of the Montmorency river, a tributary of the St. Lawrence, which are 242 feet in height; that Guiana of the Potaro river, in British , about 822 feet high and 369 feet broad; that of the Yosemite river, California, which makes a perpendicular leap of 2,100 feet; the Victoria ctoria Falls, on the Zambesi river, in south Africa, about 370 feet high and 1,860 yards broad. The cataract of the Riukanfoss, on the river Maan, in Norway, is about 900 feet high. The cascade of Gavarnie, in the Pyrenees, is reputed the loftiest in Europe, being about 13,000 feet, but its volume is so small that it is converted into spray before reaching the bottom. The fall of the Staubbach at Lauterbrunnen, in Switzerland, is between 800 and 900 feet, but has also a very small volume of water; the falls of the Rhine at Schaffhausen, renowned over Europe, are 300 feet broad and nearly 100 feet in height. In Italy the falls of Terni, on the Velino, and those of the Anio, of Tivoli, are artificial but very beautiful. Among British waterfalls, the falls of the Clyde, three in number, viz., Bonniton Linn, 30 feet, Corra Linn, 84 feet, and Stonebyres Linn, 80 feet, are remarkable for their beauty and grandeur. The falls of the Foyers river on the E. side of Loch Ness are also very remarkable.