Digital Vision/age fotostock
The famous Angel Falls
In 1933, an adventurous American bush pilot named Jimmy Angel flew up the canyon of the Río Churún Merú. Below him he saw a great waterfall. Angel, however, was more interested in the mountain than in the waterfall itself. Why? It had been said that the mountain was full of gold, and that is what Jimmy was looking for. Ten years later, accompanied by a small party including his wife, he attempted to land on the summit, but the plane crashed. Eleven days later, the party emerged from the forest. Instead of finding gold, they found the highest waterfall in the world. The waterfall now bears Jimmy Angel’s name. Angel Falls is seventeen times taller than the highest part of Niagara Falls.
Explore More:
Do some research of Spanish-language Web sites to find information about Angel Falls (el Salto Angel) in Venezuela and Iguazú Falls (las Cataratas del Iguazú) near the border of Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina. See whether you can understand enough details from the Web sites to compare Angel Falls with Iguazú Falls. Which is higher? Wider? Which involves the most water cascading down? How do these two waterfalls compare with Niagara Falls?