Photo Blog - Waterfalls

Since we're fully into the frozen portion of our year just now in the Frozen Northlands, and our 10,000+ lakes are either frozen or quickly getting there, I thought I'd share a photo blog with all of you with several stunning and amazing waterfalls of the world. I'm quite fond of waterfalls, as long-time readers know well, and when this popped up in my e-feed this morning, it seemed the perfect opportunity to share some beauty and wonder with all of you. So, settle back for a short world tour. 

This is such an amazing waterfall. See how it falls through the
stone bridges? It's really too bad they are too slippery to allow
walking, but they do make for great photos. You can see all
three in the right-hand photo. 

We'll start out by visiting Baatara Gorge in Lebanon, one of the most unusual waterfalls in the world. The limestone of the area has worn away into three rock bridges through which the waterfall cascades. The bridges are slippery, and tourists are not allowed on them, but it makes for a spectacular cascade, down 837 meters. 

Moving on to Croatia, and thinking about my LJ friend Ellynn at the same
time. I've seen these falls in a lot of photos over the years. They're
actually almost user-friendly, in a "watch out for Mother Nature" kind
of way - LOL. 

Moving on to Croatia, here is the Plitvice waterfalls, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Falling a maximum of 230 feet, it is the expanse that is breathtaking. The minerals in the area color the lakes a startling green, it is possible to get fairly close to the falls, and in winter, they freeze. Spectacular! 

Here is a massive amount of water - rather frightening. It certainly
makes for a definite border between Brazil and Argentina. No
need to build a wall when you have waterfalls like this
guarding your borders. 

Although 269 feet doesn't seem massively high, it is when it has this much water. These are the Iguazu waterfalls, between Brazil and Argentina. They are massive - no other term comes close - with an average flow of 450,000 cu ft of water per second!  This waterfall just takes my breath away. 

Tugela Falls is stunning - a three-drop cascade from a great height, it's
almost magical in appearance. Waterfalls like this always make
me wonder where the waterfall's source comes from. I have no idea
in this case, but it's really something else to look at, isn't it? 

Moving half a world away, here is Tugela Falls in South Africa, the second-highest waterfall in the world. The total height of Tugela Falls is 3110 feet and it falls through three cascades. Although slightly shorter in height than Angel Falls in Venezuela, it's a definite show-stopper. 

Victoria Falls is immense - another border between two nations -
in this case Zambia and Zimbabwe. The huge amount of water
flowing over this land-break creates a never-ending mist that
can be seen from an extremely long distance away. What
an incredible plateau. 

No run of waterfalls of the world would be complete without Victoria Falls on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, Africa. A spectacular curtain, it features a volume of five-hundred-million cubic meters of water falling every minute. That amount of water makes the falls visible from as far away as 50 km. Apparently it is possible to swim up to the edge because of a natural barrier, but I'm not so sure I'd be brave enough for that! 

Finally, back to South American for the spectacular Angel Falls of
Venezuela. If you want to see this waterfall in person, make sure
to come during the rainy season for the best cascade. It's a huge
drop, and is considered to be the highest waterfall in the world. 

Finally, no run-through of fabulous waterfalls in the world would be complete without Angel Falls in Venezuela, South America. Known as the highest waterfall in the world, it stands 3230 meters above the jungle floor. During the rainy season the amount of water splits the waterfall into two separate cascades, but in the heat of summer, the water actually evaporates before hitting the ground below. This is the waterfall of dreams from the movie "Up". 

So there you have it - a bit of armchair traveling to brighten your day today. I hope all of you have a wonderful Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow for another day's random thoughts to share with all of you. Be well, be happy, have a great Tuesday! 

Waterfalls For Beauty

Apparently the utility company has no problem moving the wire, if we pay them money. *sigh* But apparently the utility company only has one of the three cables. The other two belong to the cable company and one of the communications companies. To get the other two cables moved, I would have to go through the same procedure with each of them and  probably pay them too. NOPE. I'm calling my tree people today and I'll arrange for them to come by and give me a quote for removing the tree instead. Then we'll just bury the base of the cables as deep as we need to.

Now - I promised waterfalls for today's post, and I think that's a good idea to get my head away from the patio project for a little bit. Here we go ...

Iguazu Falls in Argentina is vast and spreads out in an array of
more than 200 individual waterfalls. The entire array is more
than two kilometers of cascades and there are walkways and
paths around many of them, offering a real immersive experience. 

Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, Africa has a massive amount of water
cascading over a sheer cliff into a narrow chasm. The spray of
water droplets lead to the nickname "smoke that thunders". It's
big and it's beautiful like so much in Africa. 

Angel Falls in Venezuela, South America, cascades down an almost
impossible span to the lush foliage below. It's the world's tallest
permanent waterfall with a drop of more than 800 meters. I remember
seeing this waterfall in the animated movie "Up". Even in
animation, this waterfall is stunning. 

Gullfoss Waterfall is one of two in Iceland that will wrap up today's
exploration of waterfalls. Look at this crazy drop. It's a two-stage
drop, the one at the top at 90 degrees, the one at the next level closer to
us, at a right angle to the first. It's unique, and it's stunning. 

This monster is the Dettifoss Waterfall in Iceland. Look at that power!
It stands at the beginning of Iceland's equivalent of our own Grand
Canyon, and what a spectacular entry it is. It's glacier water fed, of
course, and said to be Europe's most powerful waterfall. I don't
think I'd be brave enough to stand that close! 

So there you have it. Some waterfalls for your day. DH signed the landscaping contract yesterday and paid 1/2 down. We're on the calendar for mid-September. Time to get the rest of this finished - i.e., we need that tree down before it starts. I'll be calling them later this morning. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Pretty Pictures and Random Thoughts

I think I need a pretty picture or two before I dive into mini-observations and/or complaints...

Iguazu Falls in Brazil.

I think this waterfall is in China, but I'm not sure. Do you know? Email me
or post a comment and let me know where these are.

So Warren Buffet finally made his first Tweet yesterday and he already has thousands of followers. Wow - the things that can happen when you are considered to be a guru of the stock market. The majority of us who post or tweet or friend or otherwise reach out into cyberspace are lucky to have a few followers. Semi-professional bloggers/you-tube posters can have several hundred to several thousand followers, but Warren Buffet sends a single tweet and has more than 18,000 followers within a day as well as commentary on the national news and the financial channels. I'm thinking that blending into the background may not be a bad thing and since that's where I reside, it's a good thing that I am comfortable with background colors.

So many of us blend into the background. Are we doing anything that
will live past us or impact the future?

The month of May has arrived. May means Mother's Day, the month that I pay my property taxes for the first half of the year, and the month when I celebrate (or mourn) my birthday. I usually see the first leaves on the trees in a solid start to the season and flowers carpeting the ground. Instead I've got a seriously delayed spring, snowstorms and cold weather, no flowers yet, only buds on the trees and temperatures in the 40's. Good grief! I'm sending a call out for Spring to come to stay already.

I'm sending a call out for Spring. Stop wasting time and
come to stay already! We're getting tired of waiting for you to arrive.

The wildfire season has already hit California and will continue to spread east to the Southwest and the Rocky Mountain regions. As much as I miss living in Colorado and want to be back in my mountains, I don't want to be dealing with forest fires. But the numbers of people have increased and the drought also has, creating a situation that could be very, very bad.

Wildfires frighten me - more than the tornadoes that often hit my own state.

DH got really angry with my last night when I criticized his work habits. He stormed out of the room and didn't come back for a half hour. Obviously he can give crit but he can't take it. He needs to grow up and pull on his big boy pants.

Yeah, I think I needed a few pretty pictures...