Siri Waterfall, formerly called ''Santa Maria Waterfall'', is a
waterfall
A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...
located about 3 km inland from the eastern coast of the island of
Gaua
Gaua (formerly known as ''Santa Maria Island'') is the largest and second most populous of the Banks Islands in Torba Province in northern Vanuatu. It covers 342 km².
History
Gaua was first sighted by Europeans during the Spanish expediti ...
in northern
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
.
The supply of water to the waterfall is from
Lake Letas. This lake is a large freshwater lake located in the crater at the centre of the volcanic island, about 600 meters above sea level. Water flows from the lake 3 km east to the top of Siri Waterfall. After the waterfall, the water flows as a large stream, called ''Mbe Solomul River'' (formerly ''Namang''), for another 3 km before it reaches the sea. The large stream is known as "Big Water".
A rough estimate of the water flow rate (during the dry season month of August 2006) was approximately 5 cubic metres per second.
Waterfalls of Vanuatu
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