Iguazu Falls are waterfalls of the Iguazu River on the border of the Argentina province of Misiones and the Brazilian state of Paraná.
The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu. The Iguazu River rises near the city of Curitiba. For most of its course, the river flows through Brazil, however, most of the falls are on the Argentine side. Below its confluence with the San Antonio River, the Iguazu River forms the boundary between Argentina and Brazil.
Distribution of the falls between Argentina and Brazil
The Iguazu Falls are arranged in a way that resembles a reversed letter "J". The border between Brazil and Argentina runs through the Devil's Throat. On the right bank is the Brazilian territory, which has just over 20% of the jumps of these falls, and the left side jumps are Argentine, which make up almost 80% of the falls.
The falls may be reached from two main towns, with one on either side of the falls: Puerto Iguazú in Argentina and Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil, as well as from Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, on the other side of the Paraná river from Foz do Iguaçu. The falls are shared by the Iguazú National Park (Argentina) and Iguaçu National Park (Brazil). The two parks were designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1984 and 1987, respectively
Upon seeing Iguazu, the United States First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly exclaimed "Poor Niagara!"(which, at 50 m or 165 feet, are a third shorter). Often Iguazu also is compared with Victoria Falls in Southern Africa, which separates Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Iguazu is wider, but because it is split into approximately 275 discrete falls and large islands, Victoria has the largest curtain of water in the world, at more than 1,600 m (5,249 ft) wide and over 100 m (328 ft) in height (in low flow Victoria is split into five by islands; in high flow it may be uninterrupted). The only wider falls are extremely large rapid-like falls, such as the Boyoma Falls.
Mist rises between 30 and 150 metres (100 and 490 ft) from Iguazu's Devil's Throat, and more than 300 m (984 ft) above Victoria. Iguazu affords better views and walkways, however, and its shape allows for spectacular vistas. At one point a person may stand and be surrounded by 260 degrees of waterfalls.
The Devil's Throat in Argentina has water pouring into it from three sides. Likewise, because Iguazu is split into many relatively small falls, one may view these a portion at a time. The physical structure of Victoria does not allow this, as it is essentially one waterfall that falls into a canyon.
