Iguassu Falls
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The Iguassu Falls (or Iguazu Falls) are located in a South Brazilian State by the name of Paraná and Misiones, a province in Argentina. It is located around 25°41′S latitute and 54°26′W longitude. In Portuguese, the Falls are known as Cataratas do Iguaçu and in Spanish as Cataratas del Iguazú.
Origin of the name
The name of this water fall has its origins in two Guarani words : y (meaning water) and guasa (meaning big). Legend has it that god fell in love with a beautiful motal by the name of Naipú. She ran away with her mortal lover in a canoe. Overcome with rage, the god sliced up the river, thus fashioning the waterfalls in an effort to doom the lovers to a ceaseless fall.
Location
The Iguassu Falls are shared by two countries : Argentina and Brazil. The former has the falls in the Iguazú National Park and the latter in the Iguaçu National Park. Both these parks are World Heritage sites designated by UNESCO.
The Iguassu Falls are a system of about 300 water falls with varying heights, the highest being about 70 meters. These falls extend for 2.7 kilometers along the Iguassu river. The “Devils Throat”, locally known as The Garganta del Diablo, is the most impressive which is over a U shaped 700 meter long and 150 meter wide cliff. It stretches over the border between Argentina and Brazil. Although, most of the falls are located in the Argentine region, the view is more panoramic view from Brazil, where it is locally called the Garganta del Diable.
Foz do Iguaçu, a major city of Brazil (in the state of Paraná) is located very close to these falls. Puerto Iguazú (in the province called Misiones) is a main town of Argentina, situated near the Iguassu Falls. Some majoe tourist attractions near the falls are Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis, both in Argentina and Brazil and the hydroelectric power plant called Itaipu.
In fiction
The Iguassu Falls featured in the following movies :
- Moonraker (1979), 007 film
- The Mission (1986)
- Happy Together (1997),