The Iguaçu waterfall, one of the most beautiful natural wonders in the world, is located in the Iguaçu National Park on the border with Argentina. The water masses fall over a width of 2700 m into the depth, with about 2000 m lying on Argentine soil.
Iguaçu National Park: facts
| Official title: | Iguaçu National Park |
| Natural monument: | Waterfall above the confluence of the Iguaçu and Paraná rivers, surrounded by Brazilian rainforest; Area of 1700 km²; The height of fall of the waterfall over the southern Brazilian plateau is 72 m; 800 m of the 2.7 km wide waterfall on Brazilian territory; Endangerment of the ecosystem since 1998 due to the commissioning of the Salto de Caixas dam and reduction of the flow rate of 7000 cubic meters / sec. to 2300 cubic meters / sec. |
| Continent: | America |
| Country: | Brazil, Paraná |
| Location: | east of Foz do Iguaçu |
| Appointment: | 1986 |
| Meaning: | with the Iguazú National Park (Argentina) one of the world’s largest and most impressive waterfalls and habitat of endangered animal species such as the giant otter |
| Flora and fauna: | 90% covered with subtropical rainforest, in the lower part of the national park occurrence of tree fern, stone yew, philodendron and ilex, in the higher part of Araucaria angustifolia and two palm species, Euterpe edulis and Cocos romanzoffiana; Giant and la plata otters, ocelot, jaguar, puma, long-tailed cat; Bird species such as the harpy, the species Tinamus solitarius, which belongs to the wood grouse, the endangered species Pipile jacutinga, which belongs to the white-hooded chickens, and the green trough; Reptiles such as broad-snouted and brown smooth-fronted caimans |
Natural wonders in the border triangle
Fauna and flora hardly attract anyone to the remote corner of this vast country. Everyone wants to see with their own eyes what national tourism advertisements and relevant travel guides rave about and hardly leave out one superlative: the wonder of the world and the greatest natural spectacle of Brazil, which overshadows the Niagara and Victoria Falls. The American first lady Eleanor Roosevelt is quoted again and again, who is said to have exclaimed: “Poor Niagara!” The falls can be disappointing when there is drought between June and September and the Río Iguaçu has little water. Only a fraction of the thousands upon thousands of cubic meters of water then falls down the basalt rocks every second. There can be no talk of brutal forces of nature at the »Devil’s Throat«, the »Garganta do Diabo«. The opposite occurs after long periods of heavy rain at high water, then brown-yellow floods tear away even the footbridges, and all hell breaks loose: It growls, the earth trembles, the fine mist is even thicker than usual, and the play of colors of many rainbows is delightful. And on May 17, 1975 a unique spectacle took place: At minus four degrees Celsius it snowed over the falls, and for the first and last time there was a fine swirl of flakes to marvel at. can’t be a question. The opposite occurs after long periods of heavy rain at high water, then brown-yellow floods tear away even the footbridges, and all hell breaks loose: It growls, the earth trembles, the fine mist is even thicker than usual, and the play of colors of many rainbows is delightful. And on May 17, 1975 a unique spectacle took place: At minus four degrees Celsius it snowed over the falls, and for the first and last time there was a fine swirl of flakes to marvel at. can’t be a question. The opposite occurs after long periods of heavy rain at high water, then brown-yellow floods tear away even the footbridges, and all hell breaks loose: It growls, the earth trembles, the fine mist is even thicker than usual, and the play of colors of many rainbows is delightful. And on May 17, 1975 a unique spectacle took place: At minus four degrees Celsius it snowed over the falls, and for the first and last time there was a fine swirl of flakes to marvel at.
According to physicscat, the national park with its hundreds of cataracts is part of the “Mata Atlantica”, the biotope zone of the Atlantic forests, the most threatened ecosystem in Brazil. In the area of the 7,400-kilometer coastline, 456 fragments of it are only about eight percent. The state of the national park is also causing increasing concern for UNESCO and domestic and foreign environmental associations, because, as is well known, nature conservation in Brazil is by no means the best, despite the strict laws. It starts with the falls themselves. Their »Musica infernal« of around 75 decibels suddenly loses its appeal when it is drowned out by the noisy helicopter fleet at 110 decibels that circling low over the falls every day and emits 32,000 liters of fuel. Numerous species of birds fed on the insects that swirled over the water and brooded directly on the falls, which was easy to observe. This has changed since the Brazilian authorities allowed helicopter flights. However, they are banned on the Argentine side. North American biologists complain that because of the noise, even in distant parts of the Brazilian National Park, bird calls and other animal noises cannot be studied or recorded during the day.
Poachers and new settlers keep coming back to the protected area because the prescribed surveillance is largely dispensed with. In 1986 a road through the middle of the national park was closed, but it is in fact used. This is one of the reasons why animal species that were frequently observed in the past have now become rare – including colorful parrots and the harpy, a powerful griffin that knows how to hunt monkeys, as well as jaguars and caimans. What you can’t see in person can, however, be found as a stuffed specimen in the park museum.
At least the subtropical rainforest, which you can walk through on paths, appears almost completely intact over large areas. Various types of palm, but also the »candelabra tree«, which is so typical of the state of Paraná, as well as bromeliads and orchids make the jungle a treasure trove for botanists. There are so many large and colorfully shimmering butterflies fluttering in it like hardly anywhere else in Brazil – a remarkable two hundred species have been counted.
