The world’s largest waterfall that measures a whopping 11,500ft and si | World | News

The Denmark Strait cataract is an undersea overflow in the ocean channel between Iceland and Greenland, but while it may not be possible to go and visit it like other waterfalls, it certainly has made a name for itself as the largest waterfall in the world.

At around 11,500 feet, water gushes down a slope from the cataract to its bottom, which is over three times the height of Venezuela’s Angel Falls – the tallest land-based waterfall.

The formation of this incredible phenomenon dates between 17,500 and 11,500 years ago during the last ice age where huge glaciers carved and shaped the landscape which enabled the waterfall to form.

While its waters flow from staggering heights, the waterfall itself measures around 6,600 feet (2,000 metres) tall and 480 kilometres wide – the same as the Denmark Strait.

So although the water flows higher than other waterfalls, the water actually moves at a slower pace than other waterfalls.

According to LiveScience.com, the water moves at a speed of 1.6 feet per second, compared to Niagara Falls which has a recorded time of 100 feet per second.

Mike Clare, leader of marine geosystems at the National Oceanography Centre told Live Science: “If you were down there, you probably wouldn’t notice a whole heap going on,” – an emphasis on how slow the water movements actually are.

Despite this, Denmark Strait cataract plays a vital role in the Atlantic-wide ocean circulation.

North of the cataract, is where waters about 1,300 deep reside, it is only at the bottom 660 feet that they stream down the slope. The top half of the waterfall sits at the surfaces and combines with water flowing northward through the strait.

Once it leaves the Denmark Strait, the bottom half proceeds south along the seabed to Antarctic, where it enters the thermohaline circulation – a global loop of ocean currents. Funnily enough, even with all this movement, none of it is visible above the waves. 

Denmark Strait cataract is not the only underwater waterfall, whilst others aren’t as big as this famous one, but according to the marine geosystems experts, there are features known as kickpoints that often take place along contiental margins that do look more like waterfalls on earth.