Iguassu Falls

The camera stands on the steel walkway that runs out over the gorge, with railings on both sides and water going over the edge in more places than you can count at once. That is the thing about this place a single photograph never conveys: the falls are not one drop, they are a long curved rank of them, and from here they are on both sides of you. Spray comes up continuously off the bottom and hangs in the air, which is why there is a rainbow standing in the middle of the view and why everything reads slightly soft. The far wall of the gorge is jungle right to the lip. The walkway surface is wet the whole time.

Iguassu Falls is located on the border between Brazil (the State of Parana) and Argentina (the Province of Misiones). It is also called variously Iguazu Falls and Iguacu Falls. It is formed by the Iguazu River, which runs through Brazil for most of its course and marks the border between the two countries in this area. The river cascades down sheer cliffs of up to more than 240 feet. There are several cascades and cataracts, including the largest semi-circular Devil’s Throat. The combined cataracts and cascades are more than two miles wide.

To visit the falls, you can arrive from the Argentine city of Puerto Iguazu or the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguacu, which both have international airports. Most visitors come from the Argentine side because the visa situation is less complicated and there are more hotels on the Argentine side. It is possible to sit on the lawn of a hotel hundreds of yards away from the falls and still see and feel its mist, and the sound of the falls is a constant thunder.

Itaipu Dam Itaipu Dam is one of the world’s largest hydroelectric facilities, in league with the massive Three Gorges Dam in China. It is a project operated both by the countries of Paraguay and Brazil, and it lies on the border of the two countries, damming the Parana River.

Iguazu National Park, Argentina Iguazu National Park, Argentina and Iguacu National Park on the Brazil side are together a UNESCO World Heritage Site that includes the waterfalls itself and the subtropical rainforest surrounding the river. In the forest are more than 2,000 species of plants and exotic wildlife, including coati, howler and capuchin monkeys, ocelots and jaguars, tapirs, giant anteaters, and a wide variety of colorful tropical birds including the toucans, parrots, and macaws.