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Name: Iguaçu Falls
City, State: Argentina/Brazil border
What is it like?
Iguaçu Falls is one of South America's foremost tourist attractions. Situated in a lush subtropical jungle canyon
on the border between Brazil and Argentina, Iguaçu comprises 275 magnificent waterfalls. More than 2 miles wide and up to 350 feet
deep (at its deepest point, the Devil's Throat), the falls send up a perpetual spray wreathed in glorious rainbows.
Visitors who walk along the catwalk running to the base of the first level are surrounded by a breathtaking combination of roaring
water, abundant foliage and long rainbows arching through the rising mists.
The humidity and protected status of the area make it a haven for a wide variety of subtropical plants and animals. There are 71
species of mammals, 20 species of amphibians, more than 250 species of butterflies, 448 species of exotic birds and 36 species of
reptiles living in the park.
The moist air promotes the growth of exotic trees, mosses, water vegetation and colorful, year-round flowering plants. These are the
same falls Jeremy Irons climbed on his way to visit the Guarani Indians in the 1986 film The Mission. The name of the falls
is derived from a Guarani word meaning "great water."
In 1541, Spanish explorer �lvar N��ez Cabeza de Vaca first laid eyes on Iguaçu Falls and, as tradition has it, cried, "Santa Maria,
how beautiful!" In 1897, Brazilian army officer Edmundo de Barros got the idea of establishing a national preserve at the magnificent
site. Doing so was complicated by the falls' location at the border between Argentina and Brazil, but by the 1930s, national parks were
established in both Brazil (1939) and Argentina (1934). In 1984, UNESCO designated both parks a World Heritage site.
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