List of waterfalls by type

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The following is a list of waterfalls by type.

  • Plunge: Water descends vertically, losing contact with the bedrock surface.[1]
  • Horsetail: Descending water maintains some contact with bedrock.[1]
  • Cataract: A large, powerful waterfall.[1]
  • Multi-step: A series of waterfalls one after another of roughly the same size each with its own sunken plunge pool.[1]
  • Block: Water descends from a relatively wide stream or river.[1][2]
  • Cascade: Water descends a series of rock steps.[1][2]
  • Segmented: Distinctly separate flows of water form as it descends.[1]
  • Tiered: Water drops in a series of distinct steps or falls.[1]
  • Punchbowl: Water descends in a constricted form and then spreads out in a wider pool.[1]
  • Fan: Water spreads horizontally as it descends while remaining in contact with bedrock.[1]

Some waterfalls are also distinct in that they do not flow continuously. Ephemeral waterfalls only flow after a rain or a significant snowmelt.[3][4][5]

Plunge[edit]

Water descends vertically, losing contact with the bedrock surface.

Australia[edit]

Bangladesh[edit]

Brazil[edit]

Canada[edit]

Costa Rica[edit]

Estonia[edit]

Finland[edit]

Pitsusköngäs, a plunge-type waterfall in Enontekiö, Finland.

France[edit]

Guyana[edit]

Hungary[edit]

Iceland[edit]

India[edit]

Jog Falls, India's second highest plunge waterfall, is made up of four distinct, segmented falls, and is fed by the Sharavathi River. The tallest plunges 830 ft (253 m) into a deep chasm in a continuous column of water.

Indonesia[edit]

Japan[edit]

Lesotho[edit]

Mexico[edit]

New Zealand[edit]

Norway[edit]

Aerial video of Waterfall Bluff in South Africa.

South Africa[edit]

Sri Lanka[edit]

Taiwan[edit]

Uganda[edit]

United Kingdom[edit]

United States[edit]

Venezuela[edit]

Zambia[edit]

Horsetail[edit]

Descending water maintains some contact with bedrock.

Australia[edit]

Bosnia and Herzegovina[edit]

Bulgaria[edit]

Canada[edit]

Iceland[edit]

India[edit]

Ireland[edit]

Lesotho[edit]

New Zealand[edit]

North Macedonia[edit]

Norway[edit]

Philippines[edit]

Slovenia[edit]

South Africa[edit]

Sri Lanka[edit]

Switzerland[edit]

United Kingdom[edit]

United States[edit]

Cataract[edit]

A large, powerful waterfall.

Democratic Republic of the Congo[edit]

Mali[edit]

Zambia/Zimbabwe[edit]

India[edit]

Indonesia[edit]

Argentina/Brazil[edit]

Devil's Throat, Iguaçu fall's largest cataract

Multi-step[edit]

A series of waterfalls one after another of roughly the same size each with its own sunken plunge pool.

Bulgaria[edit]

The Popinolashki waterfall

Ghana[edit]

Morocco[edit]

Japan[edit]

Estonia[edit]

Iceland[edit]

Block[edit]

Water descends from a relatively wide stream or river.

Ethiopia[edit]

Cambodia[edit]

China[edit]

India[edit]

Korea[edit]

Zambia[edit]

Bosnia and Herzegovina[edit]

Iceland[edit]

Switzerland[edit]

Turkey[edit]

United Kingdom[edit]

Canada[edit]

Mexico[edit]

United States[edit]

Australia[edit]

Brazil[edit]

Cascade[edit]

Water descends a series of rock steps.

Australia[edit]

Austria[edit]

Canada[edit]

China[edit]

Finland[edit]

Germany[edit]

Iceland[edit]

India[edit]

Jamaica[edit]

Laos[edit]

New Zealand[edit]

North Macedonia[edit]

Norway[edit]

Philippines[edit]

Russia[edit]

Sri Lanka[edit]

South Africa[edit]

United Kingdom[edit]

United States[edit]

Uganda[edit]

Venezuela[edit]

Segmented[edit]

Distinctly separate flows of water form as it descends.

Australia[edit]

Bulgaria[edit]

Canada[edit]

Chile[edit]

China[edit]

Colombia[edit]

Estonia[edit]

Iceland[edit]

India[edit]

Iran[edit]

Japan[edit]

Namibia[edit]

North Macedonia[edit]

Norway[edit]

Thailand[edit]

Turkey[edit]

United Kingdom[edit]

United States[edit]

Tiered[edit]

Water drops in a series of distinct steps or falls.

Australia[edit]

Belize[edit]

Canada[edit]

Czech Republic[edit]

France[edit]

Germany[edit]

India[edit]

Indonesia[edit]

Italy[edit]

North Macedonia[edit]

Norway[edit]

Peru[edit]

Sri Lanka[edit]

Switzerland[edit]

Thailand[edit]

United Kingdom[edit]

United States[edit]

Punchbowl[edit]

Water descends in a constricted form and then spreads out in a wider pool.

Australia[edit]

Bulgaria[edit]

Canada[edit]

Iceland[edit]

Japan[edit]

Korea[edit]

Philippines[edit]

United Kingdom[edit]

United States[edit]

Fan[edit]

Water spreads horizontally as it descends while remaining in contact with bedrock.

Australia[edit]

Canada[edit]

Japan[edit]

Mexico[edit]

Philippines[edit]

United States[edit]

Ephemeral[edit]

Ephemeral waterfalls flow only after periods of heavy rain or significant snowmelt.

An example of an ephemeral waterfall. This one, when flowing, feeds into the Chagrin River (Ohio).

United States[edit]

Bulgaria[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j What is a Waterfall? archived from the original 2011-07-18, retrieved 2012-07-18
  2. ^ a b "Howstuffworks "How Waterfalls Work"". Archived from the original on 2010-09-21. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
  3. ^ https://www.terragalleria.com Ephemeral waterfall seen from inside cave. Mammoth Cave National Park.
  4. ^ https://www.kidsdiscover.com About Horsetail Falls, One of Yosemite's Ephemeral Waterfalls.
  5. ^ https://www.wncwaterfalls Bird Rock Falls.

External links[edit]