The World’s Highest Waterfall – Angel Falls, Venezuela
Angel Falls is the World’s Highest Waterfalll in Venezuela, with a height of 979 m and a plunge of 807 m. The waterfall drops over the edge of the Auyantepui mountain in the Canaima National Park , a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Gran Sabana region of Bolívar State. The height figure 979 m (3,212 ft) mostly consists of the main plunge but also includes about 400 m (0.25 mi) of sloped cascades and rapids below the drop and a 30-metre (98 ft) high plunge downstream of the talus rapids.
The falls are on the Gauja River (alternatively known as the Kerep River or Kerepacupai), which flows into the Churun River, a tributary of the Carrao River.
The waterfall has been known as the “Angel Falls” since the mid twentieth century; they are named after Jimmie Angel, a US aviator, who was the first person to fly over the falls. Angel’s ashes were scattered over the falls on July 2, 1960.
The common Spanish name “Salto Ángel” derives from his surname. In 2009, President Hugo Chávez announced his intention to change the name to the purported original indigenous Pemon term (“Kerepakupai Vená”, meaning “waterfall of the deepest place”), on the grounds that the nation’s most famous landmark should bear an indigenous name.a Explaining the name change, Chávez was reported to have said, “This is ours, long before Angel ever arrived there… this is indigenous property.”[5] However, he later said that he would not decree the change of name, but only was defending the use of Kerepakupai Vená.
