Pomona Pearls

Honours Portfolio
On
Waterfalls
 REQUIREMENT
#1

Definition of a ‘Waterfall”.

A waterfall is an area where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops in the course of a
stream or river. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice
shelf.

Define the following types of waterfalls and give one example of each:
 Block
 Cascade
  Horsetail
 Plunge
 Segmented
 Tiered

Block Waterfall
In a block waterfall, water descends from a relatively wide stream or river. A block waterfall is a
type of “ledge” waterfall. In a block waterfall, water falls from a wide river or stream, and the fall is
typically wider than it is tall.

Cascade waterfall
In a cascade waterfall, water descends a series of rock steps. Cascades are waterfalls where the
water descends along a sloped surface with irregular shape. Usually, the waterfall consists of several
small steps, although occasionally there can be also large steps. According to their steepness, cascades
can yet be sub-classified as shallow cascades (angle below 45 degrees) and steep cascades (angle more
than 45 degrees).

Horsetail waterfall
The water descends maintaining contact with the bedrock most of the time. Often the fall is steep
and thin and may resemble a horse’s tail.

Plunge Waterfall
Classical waterfall, where the water descends vertically, completely losing contact with the
bedrock surface.

Segmented Waterfall
The watercourse is segmented into several distinct stream beds, each of them forming their own
waterfall.
Tiered Waterfall
The drop height of the waterfall is divided on several distinct steps.
 REQUIREMENT
#2

Choose 10 waterfalls, including 2 from near the area or state in which you live, and list the following
information about them:
 Name,
 Total Height,
 Waterfall Type,
 Watercourse/Water Source’
 Location.
 WATERFALLS
FROM AROUND
THE WORLD

Victoria Falls

TOTAL HEIGHT: 108m(354ft) and a width of 1708m (5604 ft)

WATERFALL TYPE: Block Waterfall
WATERCOURSE/WATER SOURCE: Zambezi River
LOCATION: Livingstone, Zambia; Zimbabwe
 Raukawa Falls
TOTAL HEIGHT: 15m and a width of 50m
WATERFALL TYPE: Block Waterfall
WATERCOURSE/WATER SOURCE: Mangawhero River
LOCATION: Wellington, New Zealand
 Tokapah Falls

TOTAL HEIGHT: 370m (1200 ft)

WATERFALL TYPE: Cascade Waterfall
WATERCOURSE/WATER SOURCE: Kaweah River
LOCATION: Sequoia National Park, California, U.S.A
 Dip Falls

TOTAL HEIGHT: 22 to 34 metres (its elevation is 218m)

WATERFALL TYPE: Cascade Waterfall
WATERCOURSE/WATER SOURCE: Dip River
LOCATION: Mawbanna in the North West region of Tasmania, Australia
 Nevada Falls

TOTAL HEIGHT: 181m (594 ft) (its elevation is 1820)

WATERFALL TYPE: Horsetail Waterfall
WATERCOURSE/WATER SOURCE: Merced River
LOCATION: Yosemite, National Park, California, U.S.A
 Manawaiopuna/Jurassic Falls

TOTAL HEIGHT: 122m (400ft)

WATERFALL TYPE: Horsetail Waterfall
WATERCOURSE/WATER SOURCE: Hanalei River
LOCATION: Hanapepe Valley, Kauai Island, Hawaiian Islands
 Kaieteur Falls

TOTAL HEIGHT: 226m (741ft) (113m or 371 ft wide)

WATERFALL TYPE: Plunge
WATERCOURSE/WATER SOURCE: Potaro River
LOCATION: Kaieteur National Park, Potaro Siparuni, Guyana
 Skogafoss Falls

TOTAL HEIGHT: 60m

WATERFALL TYPE: Plunge
WATERCOURSE/WATER SOURCE: Skoga River
LOCATION: Skogar, Iceland
 Conwy/Rhaeads y Graig Lwyd Falls

TOTAL HEIGHT: 15m

WATERFALL TYPE: Segmented Waterfall
WATERCOURSE/WATER SOURCE: Conwy River
LOCATION: Wales, United Kingdom
 Seven Sisters Waterfall

TOTAL HEIGHT: 410m (1350 ft) (longest drop is 229m/751 ft)

WATERFALL TYPE: Segmented Waterfalls
WATERCOURSE/WATER SOURCE: Knivsflaelvane River
LOCATION: More og Romsdal County, Norway
 Orinduik Falls
TOTAL HEIGHT: 25m (more than 150m wide)
WATERFALL TYPE: Tiered Waterfalls
WATERCOURSE/WATER SOURCE: Ireng River
LOCATION: amid the rolling grass-covered hills at the edge of the Pakaraima
Mountains, Potaro Siparuni, Guyana
 Gullfoss Falls
TOTAL HEIGHT: 32m
WATERFALL TYPE: Tiered Falls
WATERCOURSE/WATER SOURCE: Hvita River
LOCATION: Canyon of the Hvita River, Southwest Iceland
 REQUIREMENT
#3

Complete two of the following activities.

 a. Visit a waterfall and write a paragraph talking about your experience.
b. Choose a waterfall (other than the ones in #2) of interest to you and record facts and interesting
information about the falls that you have selected.
c. Watch a video about a waterfall.
d. Make a scrapbook about waterfalls. Include pictures of waterfall and important information
about each one. (This may be a group)
Activities Chosen to be Completed are activities 2 and 4.
Using the information provided; for pathfinders, create a word search and the master guides would
create a crossword puzzle.
a. Angel/Tallest waterfall in the world at 3212 feet.
b. Browne/Tallest waterfall in New Zealand.
c. Dettifoss/Waterfall flowing from a glacier in Iceland.
d. Havasu/Waterfall on an Indian reservation in Arizona.
e. Huangguoshu/Largest waterfall in China.
f. Iguazu/275 falls on the border of Argentina and Brazil.
g. Lang Foss/Giant cascade in Norway, falling 2008 feet.
h. Mardalsfossen/Well known tiered waterfall in Norway.

Waterfall of Interest
Niagara Falls
When it comes to famous waterfalls, is there any that is more widely recognized than Niagara
Falls? This iconic waterfall sits on the border between Canada and the U.S.A. where the Niagara
River connects Lake Erie with Lake Ontario. Niagara Falls consists of three distinct waterfalls,
but Horseshoe Falls is the largest at 157 ft. and is the most photographed of the three. The other
smaller waterfalls here are the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls, both of which fall on the
U.S. side of the border. There are many ways to experience the power of Niagara Falls, from
viewpoints in both countries to cruises that take you out to the bottom of the waterfalls.

WORDSEARCH
Complete the wordsearch by finding the given names of Waterfalls below.
ANGEL BROWNE DETTIFOSS
HAVASU HUANGGUOSHU IGUAZU
LANGFOSS MARDALSFOSS

H E S U A I A N G E L L A
A U Q X H B T K I M C O P
B G A D O I C G L T Z Q X
D F N N V P G D H C U Y B
L H D B G W Q K E U H D R
A J G Z F G X R L S S Q O
N I F S Z H U Y S A F R W
G K D S C Y J O Z V M G N
F N A O I E B L S A T N E
O M Y F Q S F A M H B U D
S Q X I G U A Z U X U D I
S O Z T T R E Q X P Y H K
U P U T O V O E U I Q Z O
Z R S E Y Z V O W E L S X
M A R D A L S F O S S E N
 Requirement
#4

Water is mentioned in each of the following verses. Describe what is happening in each verse, then
tell what the water symbolizes.
a. John 9:11
b. John 13:5
c. Matthew 3:16
John 9:11 – He answered and said, “Man called Jesus made clay and anointed
my eyes and said to me, ’Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So, I went and
washed, and I received sight.”
Explanation: In this verse, a man who was born blind was explaining to the Pharisees
how he had been healed of his blindness by Jesus. Rather than recognizing the divinity of
Jesus, the Pharisees ignore the fact that Jesus had healed the man's blindness, but rather
seized on the detail that Jesus had "made clay" which was "in violation of the Sabbath."
They were indeed "straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel." (Matt 23:24).

The water in this verse represents faith, because the blind man was not healed until he
acted on faith and washed as instructed. An immediate parallel is the story of Naaman (2
Kings 5) in which Naaman was not healed of his leprosy until he acted on faith as
instructed, and washed in the River Jordan.

John 13:5 - After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’
feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
Explanation: This verse takes place during the Last Supper. The disciples had been
arguing among themselves about who of them was the greatest, so none of them wanted
to stoop down to serve the others by washing their feet. That was a job for the lowliest
servant in a household, not for someone who aspired to the Secretary of the State in the
New Kingdom. All of them knew that someone needed to perform this task, but none
would. The disciples were greatly embarrassed when they realized that Jesus himself was
doing this.
The water here represents cleansing from sin. Just as He was the only one willing to take
the role of a servant, Jesus was also the only One able to rid them of their sin.

Matthew 3:16 - When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the
water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
Explanation: This verse describes the baptism of Jesus. Baptism represents
our own death, burial, and resurrection. We die to ourselves, are "buried" in
the water (representing the grave), and then resurrected as new, born again
Christians. The water is also cleansing us of our old life of sin.