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Iguassu Falls Facts?The purpose of this page is to acquaint you about the Iguassu Falls and surrounding attractions on what’s important knowing to get the most out of your travel experience there.
The first important data about the falls you should know is their current flow rate. Click on the Flow Rate icon on your left for complete explanations of this important data.
So the first logical step on your Iguassu Falls travel plan is to gather information about them. Ready to move on?
The Name of the Falls Iguassu Falls, Iguazu Falls or Yguazu Falls?
So what’s the real name of the Iguassu Falls? At first it was pretty confusing for us and we guess it can also be for many people coming here, so let’s start wiping some ‘mist’ out of the Misted Falls! The confusion has to do with the fact that they are located on the border between Argentina and Brazil and only a few miles away from Paraguay. It also has to do with the fierce competition going on for the tourists’ money. Each of these countries has a different spoken language and differing spellings for the name of the waterfalls with each one trying to make a different brand name of them.
The original name of the falls was given by the Guaraní natives who lived in the region long before the Europeans arrived and the spelling is Y’guazú meaning Y = water and guazú = big.
Knowing about the Culture of Paraguay. The Iguassu Falls are located in what was the heart of the Guarani world. Something that most visitors don’t get properly acquainted of is that Paraguay is culturally speaking the most closely related country to the Guarani culture, so understanding the culture of Paraguay helps to better understand the spirit of the falls. Want to understand the the Iguassu Falls with the eyes and spirit of the Guaranis natives? I give you a glance of this fascinating point of view in my Culture of Paraguay page , don’t miss reading it!. Want to watch the Iguassu Falls live to the tune of a beautiful Paraguayan Guarania? Click on the start button below to see a video I shooted on one of my visits there.
Personally I like to call the falls ‘Misted’ Falls for one reason…
No mater how you want to name them the Iguassu Falls really are a ‘Big Water’, 
Located just above the confluence of the Iguazú and Paraná Rivers around the coordinates 25°41'S, 54°26'W the Iguassu Falls belong to the southern Brazilian State of Paraná and the northeastern Argentine Province of Misiones.
The Iguazú River has its source in the Sierra do Mar mountains near the Atlantic Coast flowing westward over 1300 km (800 miles) mostly inside Brazilian territory and into the Parana River. In its final section the river serves as a natural boundary between Argentina and Brazil.
The confluence of the Iguazú and Paraná Rivers is the landmark of the called Triple Frontier between these two countries and Paraguay.
Discover Paraguay when discovering Iguassu Falls. Paraguay is the least promoted and known of the three countries involved on your trip to the falls. As you visit the falls you can also visit very interesting attractions in Paraguay that can add unexpected charm and adventure to your trip. To know about this please read our Places to Visit in Paraguay page. The Iguassu Falls are made up of 150-275 cascades depending on the flow rate which varies between 300 cu./m per sec. and 6,500 cu./m per sec. according to seasonal rainfall occurrence. When is it best coming here? For better planning the timing of your visit please read our family adventure vacation section where we explain the why’s and when’s. The falls form a horse-shoe shaped front of 2,700 m (8,860 ft) of which 1,900 m is under Argentinean jurisdiction. Which is the best side of the Iguassu Falls, Argentina or Brazil? Please don’t miss reading our family adventure vacation section where we explain this. The falls divide the Iguassu River in the upper and lower sections with an average fall of 72 m (236 ft) or about the height of a 30 storey building. A dramatic fall like this works as an ecological boundary with differentiated species living in the upper and lower sections of the river, this is most notable with the fish fauna but also occurs with the vegetation due to the moisture variations, being the lower section much more humid. The upper section is a wide tranquil waters river with many small islands covered with exuberant vegetation that divide the river into numerous cascades. The lower section is an 80 m (262 ft) deep canyon with 2 km (1.24 miles) of white water rapids which also holds islands and rocks with an even richer flora. You can walk, raft, boat and fly over both sections, but guess what? Yes, we explain all these details in our family adventure vacation section!
Comparison to other famous falls Waterfall comparisons are not easy because there are so many things to compare and, of course, waterfalls of the world are all different. Three common criteria for comparison are height, width and water flow. On all three criteria Iguassu Falls is vastly larger than Niagara Falls and is only rivaled by South Africa’s Victoria Falls. You can read an excellent article that compares Iguassu Falls with other famous falls in Wikipedia Iguassu Falls Dynamics Did you know the Iguassu Falls are moving? Yes they are moving upstream but you won’t notice it because it’s a slow process. Some thousands of years ago the main falls were located where now the Arrechea waterfalls are (see the above map) and experts think they were located on the Iguassu and Paraná rivers confluence some 1.2 to 2 million years ago.
You are standing on a sea of water There’s lots of water here, not only on the surface but also underneath. The Iguassu Falls area sits on the largest underground fresh water reservoir in the world called the Guaraní Aquifer. It’s not only mineral water it’s hot mineral water that surfaces at 38 C (100 F). If you are interested in enjoying a great thermal bath when visiting the Iguassu Falls please read our hotel reviews. With an estimated volume of 40,000 km3 the Guaraní Aquifer holds enough fresh water to sustain world demand for 200 years. Will this place become a fresh water Kuwait in the future? It could be if we keep on spoiling our drinking water resources.
Combined these National Parks are almost the size of Luxembourg or more than one third the area of Delaware and are one of the last untouched remains of the subtropical Atlantic Rainforest that once covered a large area of south-eastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay and north-eastern Argentina. Most of it has perished to logging and agricultural development.
All this explains why they were enlisted in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The Iguassu Falls are a cornerstone where three different cultures converge and this makes the place even more interesting. Adding up to this you can notice the underlying influence of the native Guaraní culture everywhere. There are three cities surrounding the Iguassu Falls, each one is completely different from the other two and shows the ways and manners of three different kinds of people, Argentineans, Brazilians and Paraguayans.
Foz do Iguaçu,
Ciudad del Este
and
Puerto Iguazú
all deserve to be visited for different reasons that we explain in those articles.
There are frequent questions people make us about the Iguassu Falls. Please move to our Frequently Asked Questions page, the place where you ask and receive answers about Iguassu Falls!
Want to start from the beginning? Please move from Iguassu Falls Facts to
Iguassu Falls Home Page.
the best place to start discovering Iguassu Falls!
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The Iguassu National Parks not only hold a one of a kind waterfall they also are a botanical and zoological treasure and the last retreat of unique species several of which are vulnerable or endangered.
The Giant Ant Eater and the Jaguar are two species living in the parks among other 66 species of mammals,
