Orange clouds blaze across the South American sky. Wikimedia Commons
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With all the moisture in the air, rainbows make frequent appearances at Iguazu Falls. transworld/Flickr
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A dreamy time-lapse of cascading water. diser55/Flickr
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Permanent mist rises from the great falls. Shane R/Flickr
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Sometimes the mist is so thick that it's hard to see the falls at all. Pixabay
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A hazy sunset above the falls. cnbattson/Flickr
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The view from a helicopter tour in Brazil. You can't take these tours in Argentina, which doesn't provide them out of preservation concerns.schrey/Flickr
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View of the falls from a lookout point. y_fujii/Flickr
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A panoramic shot shows the falls' breadth.Wikimedia Commons
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The largest cataract of Iguazu Falls — Garganta del Diablo, or Devil's Throat — is an 80 meter (262 foot) drop. ishot71/Flickr
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People congregate at the Iguazu Falls lookout. cristinavalencia/Flickr
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Prismatic color adds a touch of mysticism to the air. frankensteinnn/Flickr
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Rosy skies reflect upon the relatively still water.Pixabay
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Lush rainforests surround the great natural wonder. Wikimedia Commons
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Rushing water collides and creates vast quantities of white foam. Pixabay
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A view of the falls' enormous length.Pixabay
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Azure skies peek out above the falls.Pixabay
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Approximately 53,000 cubic feet of water flow over the edges of Iguazu Falls every second. Pixabay
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In 2011, Iguazu Falls was one of the winners in a "New Seven Wonders of Nature" competition, which allowed people across the world to vote for new natural wonders. Other winners included the Amazon Rainforest, Halong Bay, Jeju Island, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Komodo Island, and Table Mountain.Wikimedia Commons
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Aerial photos capture the falls' grandiose nature.Wikimedia Commons
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The Argentina side (above) offers walking tours via a rustic boardwalk. Wikimedia Commons
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Visitors that travel via the boardwalk are advised that they might get soaked while crossing. Wikimedia Commons
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It's certainly fitting that "Iguazu" literally means "big water" in the native Guarani Indian language.Wikimedia Commons
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A NASA satellite image of Iguazu Falls.Wikimedia Commons
A single waterfall is spellbinding in its own right -- imagine the sight of 275 of them convening in a single spot. That place isn't fantasy; it's a reality to be found at Iguazu Falls.
Over 1 million tourists visit this gigantic natural wonder each year. Well known to indigenous peoples -- indeed, its name comes from the guarani word for "big water" -- it wasn't until 1541 that the Old Continent first laid eyes on the falls vis-a-vis an expedition led by Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca.
Located in Brazil and Argentina, what surrounds Iguazu Falls is as striking as the falls themselves. Rainforests encircle the area on both sides, making a home for over 2,000 varieties of indigenous plants, 400 species of birds, and 80 native mammals.
Furthermore, the falls' sheer colossal size -- Iguazu Falls is three times as wide as Niagara Falls and enough water passes over the falls per second to fill five Olympic-sized pools -- fittingly lends itself to some fascinating local mythology.
According to legends of the local Guaraní tribe, Iguazu Falls formed when a young boy saved a beautiful young girl from being sacrificed to a giant serpent named Boi. When Boi found out that the boy had rescued in a canoe, the story goes that the serpent created the falls to catch them. Upon catching them, the serpent transformed the boy into trees, and the girl’s hair into the falls themselves. The rainbows that form above the falls, according to indigenous myth, signal the insuperable bond between the young boy and girl.
An All That's Interesting writer since 2013, Erin Kelly focuses on historic places, natural wonders, environmental issues, and the world of science. Her work has also been featured in Smithsonian and she's designed several book covers as a graphic artist.
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.
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Kelly, Erin. "Iguazu Falls In 24 Breathtaking Photos." AllThatsInteresting.com, September 1, 2016, https://allthatsinteresting.com/iguazu-falls. Accessed February 26, 2025.
