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Angel Falls ( es, Salto Ángel; Pemon language: ''Kerepakupai Merú'' meaning "waterfall of the deepest place", or ''Parakupá Vená'', meaning "the fall from the highest point") is a waterfall in Venezuela. It is the world's tallest uninterrupted waterfall, with a height of and a plunge of . The waterfall drops over the edge of the
Auyán-tepui Auyán Tepui (), also spelled Ayan, is a tepui in Bolívar state, Venezuela.Huber, O. (1995). Geographical and physical features. In: P.E. Berry, B.K. Holst & K. Yatskievych (eds.) '' Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Volume 1. Introduction.'' Mis ...
mountain in the
Canaima National Park Canaima National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Canaima) is a park in south-eastern Venezuela that roughly occupies the same area as the Gran Sabana region. It is located in Bolívar State, reaching the borders with Brazil and Guyana. History Ca ...
(
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
: Parque Nacional Canaima), a UNESCO World Heritage site in the
Gran Sabana La Gran Sabana (, en, The Great Savanna) is a region in southeastern Venezuela, part of the Guianan savanna ecoregion. The savanna spreads into the regions of the Guiana Highlands and south-east into Bolívar State, extending further to the b ...
region of Bolívar State. The height figure, , mostly consists of the main plunge but also includes about of sloped cascade and
rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a '' cascade' ...
below the drop and a plunge downstream of the talus rapids. The falls are along a fork of the Río Kerepacupai Merú which flows into the
Churún River The Churún River () is a river in Venezuela, part of the Orinoco River basin. It is located around , in Canaima National Park and a tributary comes from the Angel Falls Angel Falls ( es, Salto Ángel; Pemon language: ''Kerepakupai Merú'' me ...
, a tributary of the
Carrao River Carrao River is a river of Venezuela. It is part of the Orinoco River basin. It is well known for one of its major tributaries, the Churún River, which feeds Angel Falls, the world's highest waterfall. Another major tributary is the Ahonda Rive ...
, itself a tributary of the
Orinoco River The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wo ...
.


History


Etymology

The waterfall has been known as Angel Falls since the mid-20th century; they are named after
Jimmie Angel James "Jimmie" Crawford Angel (August 1, 1899December 8, 1956) was an American aviator after whom Angel Falls in Venezuela, the tallest waterfall in the world, is named. Early life James Crawford Angel was born August 1, 1899, near Cedar Valle ...
, a U.S. aviator, who was the first person to fly over the falls. Angel's ashes were scattered over the falls on 2 July 1960. The common Spanish name ''Salto Ángel'' derives from his surname. In 2009, President
Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
announced his intention to change the name to the purported original indigenous
Pemon The Pemon or Pemón (Pemong) are indigenous people living in areas of Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana.See pp.112,113 and 178 of ''Venezuela: the Pemon'', in ''Condé Nast Traveler'', December 2008. They are also known as Arecuna, Aricuna Jaricuna, ...
term ("''Kerepakupai-Merú''", meaning "waterfall of the deepest place"), on the grounds that the nation's most famous landmark should bear an indigenous name. Explaining the name change, Chávez was reported to have said, "This is ours, long before Angel ever arrived there ... this is indigenous land." However, he later said that he would not decree the change of name, but was only defending the use of Kerepakupai Vená.


Exploration

Sir
Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellion ...
, in his expedition to find the fabled city of
El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king ...
, described what was possibly a ''
tepui A tepui , or tepuy (), is a table-top mountain or mesa found in South America, especially in Venezuela and western Guyana. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gra ...
'' (table top mountain), and he is said to have been the first European to view Angel Falls, although these claims are considered far-fetched. Some historians state that the first European to visit the waterfall was Fernando de Berrío, a Spanish explorer and governor from the 16th and 17th centuries. Other sources state that the first Westerner to see the waterfall was the Spanish explorer Fèlix Cardona in 1927. They were not known to the outside world until American aviator
Jimmie Angel James "Jimmie" Crawford Angel (August 1, 1899December 8, 1956) was an American aviator after whom Angel Falls in Venezuela, the tallest waterfall in the world, is named. Early life James Crawford Angel was born August 1, 1899, near Cedar Valle ...
, following directions given by Cardona, flew over them on 16 November 1933 on a flight while he was searching for a valuable ore bed. Returning on 9 October 1937, Angel tried to land his Flamingo monoplane ''El Río Caroní'' atop
Auyán-tepui Auyán Tepui (), also spelled Ayan, is a tepui in Bolívar state, Venezuela.Huber, O. (1995). Geographical and physical features. In: P.E. Berry, B.K. Holst & K. Yatskievych (eds.) '' Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Volume 1. Introduction.'' Mis ...
, but the plane was damaged when the wheels sank into the marshy ground. Angel and his three companions, including his wife Marie, were forced to descend the tepui on foot. It took them 11 days to make their way back to civilization by the gradually sloping back side, but news of their adventure spread and the waterfall was named Angel Falls in his honor. The name of the waterfall—"Salto del Ángel"—was first published on a Venezuelan government map in December 1939. Angel's plane remained on top of the tepui for 33 years before being lifted out by helicopter. It was restored at the Aviation Museum in Maracay and now sits outdoors on the front of the airport at Ciudad Bolívar. The first recorded European to reach the base of the falls was the Latvian explorer
Aleksandrs Laime Aleksandrs Laime ( es, Alejandro Laime, en, Alexander Laime) was a famous Latvian-born explorer. He is most noted for being the first recorded human to reach Angel Falls, located in Venezuela, by foot. He also established, together with Charl ...
, also known as Alejandro Laime to the native Pemon tribe. He reached the falls alone in 1946. He was the first to reach the upper side of the falls in the late 1950s, by climbing up the back side, where the slope is not vertical. He also reached Angel's plane 18 years after the crash landing. On 18 November 1955, Latvian independence day, he announced to the Venezuelan newspaper '' El Nacional'' that this stream without any known local name should be named after a Latvian river,
Gauja The Gauja River ( et, Koiva jõgi, german: Livländische Aa) is a river in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. It is the only large river of Latvia that begins and ends its flow in Latvia. Its length is 460 km, of which 93.5 km (approxim ...
. The same year, this name was registered in the National Cartographic Institution of Venezuela. There is no convincing proof that the indigenous Pemon people had named the local streams, as Auyán-tepui was considered to be a dangerous place and was not visited by the indigenous people. However, lately the Pemon name Kerep is used as well. Laime was also the first to clear a trail that leads from the
Churún River The Churún River () is a river in Venezuela, part of the Orinoco River basin. It is located around , in Canaima National Park and a tributary comes from the Angel Falls Angel Falls ( es, Salto Ángel; Pemon language: ''Kerepakupai Merú'' me ...
to the base of the falls. On the way is a viewpoint commonly used to capture the falls in photographs. It is named Mirador Laime ("Laime's Viewpoint" in
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
) in his honor. This trail is used now mostly for tourists, to lead them from the Isla Ratón camp to the small clearing. The official height of the falls was determined by a survey carried out by an expedition organized and financed by American journalist
Ruth Robertson Ruth Agnes McCall Robertson Marietta (May 24, 1905 – February 17, 1998) was an American photojournalist who accomplished many "firsts" for women photographers and is also known mostly for photographing Angel Falls in Venezuela and surveying ...
on 13 May 1949. Robertson's expedition, which began on 23 April 1949, was also the first to reach the foot of the falls. The first known attempt to climb the face of the cliff was made in 1968 during the wet season. It failed because of slippery rock. In 1969, a second attempt was made during the dry season. This attempt was thwarted by lack of water and an overhang from the top. The first climb to the top of the cliff was completed on 13 January 1971. The climbers, a four-man team led by American mountaineer George Bogel, an electrical engineer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, required nine and a half days to ascend and one and a half days to rappel down.


Tourism

Angel Falls is one of Venezuela's top tourist attractions, though a trip to the falls is a complicated affair. The falls are located in an isolated jungle. A flight from Maiquetia Airport or
Puerto Ordaz Ciudad Guayana () (in English Guayana City) is a city in Bolívar State, Venezuela. It stretches 40 kilometers along the south bank of the Orinoco river, at the point where it is joined by its main tributary, the Caroní river. The Caroni cros ...
or
Ciudad Bolívar Ciudad Bolívar (; Spanish for "Bolivar City"), formerly known as Angostura and St. Thomas de Guyana, is the capital of Venezuela's southeastern Bolívar State. It lies at the spot where the Orinoco River narrows to about in width, is the si ...
is required to reach Canaima camp, the starting point for river trips to the base of the falls. River trips generally take place from June to December, when the rivers are deep enough for use by the
Pemon The Pemon or Pemón (Pemong) are indigenous people living in areas of Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana.See pp.112,113 and 178 of ''Venezuela: the Pemon'', in ''Condé Nast Traveler'', December 2008. They are also known as Arecuna, Aricuna Jaricuna, ...
guides. During the dry season (December to March), there is less water seen than in the other months.


See also

*
List of waterfalls by height The following are lists of waterfalls in the world by height, classified into two categories — natural and artificial. Natural waterfalls are further subdivided between overall height and tallest single drop. Each column (Waterfall, Height, Local ...


References


External links


Salto-angel.com
{{Authority control Geography of Bolívar (state) Orinoco basin Rivers of Venezuela Waterfalls of Venezuela Plunge waterfalls Canaima National Park