Iguazu Falls

By: Nick Coburn 2/22/10 Spanish period 6

Iguazu Falls is located on the border of Argentina and Brazil. Just a few miles down the Iguazu River is also Paraguay. Iguazu is a Guarani Indian word meaning great water. Iguazu Falls was discovered in 1541 by Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca. Also, the

falls have their own national park that was founded in 1934. Iguazu Falls is a crecent shaped rim that is 2.7 kilometers long. These falls are two times as long as the famous Niagra Falls and one and one half times taller. Iguazu is located split in between Argentina and Brazil. There are over 275 individual water falls which of two thirds of them are on the Argentinean side. However the best view of the falls is on the Brazilian side. The exact water fall separating the two countries is called the Devils Throat. Iguazu also can be spelt three different ways depending if are from Brazil, Argentina, or Paraguay. It can be spelt I G U A Z A, I G U A C U, or I G U A S S A. A thousand years ago, living at Iguazu falls was an Eldoradense culture of hunter gatherers. While the Eldoradense culture was living at Iguazu, the Guarani Indians came and took control over that culture. The Guarani Indians were the people who gave Iguazu Falls its name. After the Guarani Indians disappeared, a man who was walking for eight months nonstop named Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca ran into Iguazu falls in 1541. The first and only thing he said when he saw the falls was, Holy Mary mother of god. Famous water falls are placed in four categories, most ratio of water, longest, widest, and tallest. Niagra Falls won most water ratio, Angel Falls won tallest water fall, and Iguazu Falls won widest AND longest water fall. In the future, Iguazu Falls might be on the list to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World. I personally think that it should have already been on the list. In 1934 the Iguazu National Park was created. The park is located near the Iguazu River which is on the Argentinean side located in the highest tropical jungles. The park is 135,905 acres big! The reserve shelter inside of the park inhabits over 400 different species of fish, pumas, wild hogs, monkeys, especially birds and many, many more different animals that are rare or that are endangered. The park gets over 1,000,000 tourists a year and is one of South Americas most famous tourists attractions. Not a lot of people know Iguazu Falls by its name or description but many people will recognize it if they see a picture of it. This because so many movies, shows, and commercials have been filmed here. For example, the movie The Mission was filmed here. The Mission won an Oscar and best picture. Also hydroelectric generators are located all over Iguazu Falls. Hydroelectric generators are used to make electricity. They use the flow of water to make electricity for homes. One name of a hydroelectric generator power plant is the Yacyreta Apipe which powers thousands of homes.

My dad and his wife just visited Argentina on their honey moon. While he was in Argentina he visited Iguazu Falls. He took many pictures and videos. It looked like it was a lot of fun and my dad said it was. My dad recommends going to Iguazu Falls because it was an amazing sight and lots of fun. While my dad was taking a pictures he got drenched because he was so close to the waterfall When he was there he said he saw many bugs and animals. An interesting fact that he learned while he was with his tour guide is that flowers do not bloom there because there was so many bugs. Here are some interesting facts about Iguazu Falls: 1. Paraguay has the closest relationship to the Guarani Indians. 2. Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina all are in a fierce competition for the tourists money. 3. The Parana River is the river that provides Iguazu Falls with water. 4. The ratio of water falling from Iguazu falls once got up to 800,000 gallons per second! 5. There was a drought in 2006 where the water ratio only got up to 350,000 gps.

Bibliography
Books Kalmon, Bobbie. Argentina the land published in 1993. Canoton, Ethel. Cultures of the world: Argentina published in 1991. Websites http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_falls http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_National_Park