The Potaro River Kaieteur Falls are located at the entrance to the Potaro Gorge, in the Potaro-Siparuni region of Guyana – South America.
The British geologist and topographer Charles B. Brown traveled from 1868 to 1871 through the largely unexplored hinterland of British Guiana, he was the first European to see the waterfall and made a drawing. The name of the waterfall was taken from the associated river Kaieteur, at the mouth of which there was already a Dutch military post, but whose administration had no knowledge of the upper reaches of the river.
Kaieteur Falls is the world’s largest single drop waterfall by the volume of water flowing over it. Its height is 226 meters – about 5 times higher than Niagara Falls and 2 times higher than Victoria Falls.
The waterfall is one of the most important sights in the country and the subject of the documentary film The White Diamond by Werner Herzog. He is also shown in the film Green Mansions.
Access : Coordinates: 5.175, -59.4805 / Kaieteur is a waterfall located on the Potaro River in western Guyana, near the border with Venezuela.
Highlights :
- Kaieteur Falls is an approximately 226 meter waterfall on the Potaro River in central Guyana. They are located in Kaieteur National Park.
- In 1908, the German-US biologist Carl H. Eigenmann also explored the area.
- According to a legend of the Patamona Indians, their chief Kai found his death in the waterfall: his tribe was attacked by the warlike Caribs, and in his distress Kai turned to the spirit Makunaima. This demanded a sacrifice. Then Kai climbed into a canoe, with which he plunged into the depths with the masses of water. Thus he was able to bring peace to the land of his tribe.
Go next : Near the Kaieteur Falls is the type locality of the rare mineral potarite, named after the Potaro River.
