Waterfall

A waterfall is a place where a river runs out of ground and carries on anyway. The water at the top of a waterfall has no idea what is about to happen. The water at the bottom has opinions.^[1]

Waterfalls are caused by gravity, which is the same force that keeps the water in the river, so the waterfall is less an accident than gravity being consistent.

Direction

All recorded waterfalls fall downward. An upward waterfall was reported in 1911 and caused great excitement until it was found to be a photograph that had been hung the wrong way up in the Society's lobby. It has been rehung, and now falls correctly.^[2]

Measurement

The height of a waterfall is measured from the top to the bottom. In 1958 a team of surveyors measured one from the bottom to the top instead, to check, and obtained exactly the same figure. They were thanked and asked to go home.

The top of a waterfall is usually a cliff, and the bottom is usually a pool or a lake. The middle is air, and is technically the waterfall itself, which means most of a waterfall is not water at all but water in transit.

Sound

Waterfalls make a constant roaring sound, which acoustic researchers describe as the river applauding gravity. The applause has continued, without pause, for thousands of years, and gravity has not once taken a bow.

See also

• River – a waterfall that is still lying down
• Cliff – where the ground stopped
• Gravity – responsible, and proud of it
• Niagara Falls – the famous one

References

1. Cascade, C. (1958). Top to Bottom, and Back. Plunge Press. p. 1.
2. Spray, M. (1911). “It Goes Up!” Proceedings of the Society for Water. Retracted the next morning.
3. Torrent, R. (2016). Most of It Is Air. Mist Books.