Posted on 08/16/2009 12:00:56 AM PDT by cogitator
I don't know how many of you saw the movie "Up" (Disney/Pixar). It helps to have kids. It was good -- and surprisingly anxiety-inducing. Anyway, not to give much away, a waterfall in Venezuela is a significant plot device. When I saw both trailers and the actual movie, I said to myself "Obviously inspired by Angel Falls".
I was wrong.
Turns out that the real waterfall inspiration, I think, is Salto Kukenam (or Kukenan, or Kukenaam) -- not sure. From what I can tell, Salto Kukenam falls from one of the smaller tepuis -- a larger one hosts Angel Falls. Now, the interesting thing is that the Web site I linked to has a list of the "World's 10 Highest Waterfalls" which lists this one as ninth. The discussion is interesting: the discussants note that Tugela Falls and Yosemite Falls are missing. One responder says this is about the tallest single drop -- but doesn't distinguish between "free-leaping" falls, those where the water actually separates itself from the edifice that it is falling from, and those that flow down the side of a very tall wall/cliff.
Now, I also think that Salto Kukenam is not permanent, i.e., I think it only falls during the rainy season. I put the two photographs below in evidence. And I will say, when it's flowing, it's really striking. Click both for full-size.
** ping **
Intersting that the only way for water to go down the falls from that peak is to first land on the top plateau from rain.
No source of springs or floods or upriver floods or hurricane storm surge, no “water table” higher up than the land right there at the top.
almost looks unreal how much water is coming down that size of a hill.
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