Highest waterfall in the world

What to remember

The water drops off the edge of Auyán-tepui, in Canaima National Park, Venezuela. Angel Falls is 979 m high in total, making it the tallest waterfall in the world.

Those 979 m are not a single drop. The main plunge is 807 m; below it come about 400 m of sloped cascades and rapids, then a final 30 m plunge further downstream. That main plunge also makes it the world's tallest uninterrupted waterfall.

In the Pemon language it is called Kerepakupai Vená. Its Spanish and English names come from Jimmy Angel, the American aviator who first flew over it in 1933. The falls lie on a fork of the Río Kerep, whose waters flow on to the Orinoco.