Gavarnie Falls
Encyclopedia
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
in France. With its overall drop of 422 metres, it is the highest waterfall in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The falls are situated in the Cirque de Gavarnie
Cirque de Gavarnie
The Cirque de Gavarnie is a cirque in the central Pyrenees, in the Pyrenees National Park. The cirque is 800m wide and about 3000m wide at the top.Major features of the cirque are La Brèche de Roland and the Gavarnie Falls....
, near the village Gavarnie
Gavarnie
Gavarnie is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France.-See also:* Cirque de Gavarnie* Gavarnie Falls*Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department-References:*...
in the Hautes-Pyrénées
Hautes-Pyrénées
Hautes-Pyrénées is a department in southwestern France. It is part of the Midi-Pyrénées region.-History:...
.
The waterfall is the beginning of the Gave de Pau stream. It is fed by a melting snow and a small glacier, located in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. This water seeps underground until it appears at the upper rim of waterfall. The average annual flow in the waterfall is 3 m3/s. In summer, when the snowmelt is most intense, it can reach up to 200 m3/s. In winter it sometimes freezes and stops flowing.
The waterfall has 2 - 3 steps; the height of the tallest drop is 281 m.