Angel Falls: Difference between revisions
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The waterfall was known for most of the twentieth century by the named 'Angel Falls' after [[Jimmie Angel]], a US aviator who was the first to fly over the falls in a plane. According to the British newspaper, ''The Guardian'', President [[Hugo Chávez]] announced his intention to change the name to "''Kerepakupai Merú''" in 2009, on the grounds that the nation's most famous landmark should bear an [[indigenous peoples|indigenous]] name.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/21/chavez-renames-angel-falls-waterfall | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=Hugo Chávez renames Angel Falls | first=Rory | last=Carroll | date=2009-12-21 | accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> Explaining the name change, President Chávez was reported to have said, "This is ours, long before Angel ever arrived there...this is indigenous property."<ref>http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N20125231.htm</ref> However, on December 23rd, he clarified that he will not decree the change of name, but only was defending the use of Kerepakupai merú.<ref>http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/noticia/132168/chavez-dice-que-no-decreto-el-cambio-de-nombre-del-salto-angel/</ref><ref>http://www.lasprovincias.es/agencias/20091223/mas-actualidad/tecnologia/chavez-dice-decreto-cambio-nombre_200912232237.html</ref> |
The waterfall was known for most of the twentieth century by the named 'Angel Falls' after [[Jimmie Angel]], a US aviator who was the first to fly over the falls in a plane. According to the British newspaper, ''The Guardian'', President [[Hugo Chávez]] announced his intention to change the name to "''Kerepakupai Merú''" in 2009, on the grounds that the nation's most famous landmark should bear an [[indigenous peoples|indigenous]] name.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/21/chavez-renames-angel-falls-waterfall | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=Hugo Chávez renames Angel Falls | first=Rory | last=Carroll | date=2009-12-21 | accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> Explaining the name change, President Chávez was reported to have said, "This is ours, long before Angel ever arrived there...this is indigenous property."<ref>http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N20125231.htm</ref> However, on December 23rd, he clarified that he will not decree the change of name, but only was defending the use of Kerepakupai merú.<ref>http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/noticia/132168/chavez-dice-que-no-decreto-el-cambio-de-nombre-del-salto-angel/</ref><ref>http://www.lasprovincias.es/agencias/20091223/mas-actualidad/tecnologia/chavez-dice-decreto-cambio-nombre_200912232237.html</ref> |
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HELLO TEAGEN! |
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== Exploration== |
== Exploration== |
Revision as of 15:35, 11 May 2010
![]() | This article needs to be updated. |
5°58′03″N 62°32′08″W / 5.96750°N 62.53556°W
Angel Falls Salto Ángel Kerepakupai Merú | |
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![]() Angel Falls, Bolívar State, Venezuela | |
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Location | Auyantepui, Canaima National Park, Venezuela |
Type | Plunge |
Total height | 979 m / 3,212 ft |
Number of drops | 47 |
Longest drop | 807 m / 2,647 ft |
World height ranking | 1[1] |
Angel Falls or Kerepakupai merú (which means "waterfall of the deepest place", in Pemon language, or: Parakupa-vena, which means "the fall from the highest point"; Spanish: Salto Ángel) is a waterfall in Venezuela.
It is the world's highest waterfall, with a height of 979 m (3,212 ft) and a plunge of 807 m (2,647 ft). The waterfall drops over the edge of the Auyantepui mountain in the Canaima National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Canaima), a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Gran Sabana region of Bolívar State, Venezuela.
The height of the fall is so great that before getting anywhere near the ground, much of the water is evaporated or carried away as a fine mist by the strong wind. The base of the falls feeds into the Kerep River (alternatively known as the Río Gauya), which flows into the Churun River, a tributary of the Carrao River.
The height figure 3,212 feet (979 m) mostly consists of the main plunge but also includes about 0.25 miles (400 m) of sloped cascades and rapids below the drop and a 100-foot (30 m) high plunge downstream of the talus rapids. While the main plunge is undoubtedly the highest single drop in the world, some feel that including the lower cascades somewhat stretches the criteria[2] for the measurement of waterfalls, although there are no universally recognized standards of waterfall measurement[3].
Name
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Salto_angel.jpg/220px-Salto_angel.jpg)
In the indigenous Pemon language Kerepakupai merú means 'waterfall of the deepest place'. The falls are sometimes referred to as Churún-merú, an error, since that name corresponds to another waterfall in the Canaima National Park. Churún in the Pemon language means "thunder".
The waterfall was known for most of the twentieth century by the named 'Angel Falls' after Jimmie Angel, a US aviator who was the first to fly over the falls in a plane. According to the British newspaper, The Guardian, President Hugo Chávez announced his intention to change the name to "Kerepakupai Merú" in 2009, on the grounds that the nation's most famous landmark should bear an indigenous name.[4] Explaining the name change, President Chávez was reported to have said, "This is ours, long before Angel ever arrived there...this is indigenous property."[5] However, on December 23rd, he clarified that he will not decree the change of name, but only was defending the use of Kerepakupai merú.[6][7] HELLO TEAGEN!
Exploration
Sir Walter Raleigh described what was possibly a tepuy (table top mountain), and he is sometimes said to have been the first European to view the Angel Falls, but these claims are considered far-fetched.[8] Some historians state that the first European to visit the waterfall was Fernando de Berrío, a Spanish explorer and governor from the 16th and 17th centuries.[9] Later on, they were indeed spotted in 1912 by the Venezuelan explorer Ernesto Sánchez La Cruz, but he did not publicize his discovery. They were not known to the outside world until American aviator Jimmie Angel flew over them on 16 November 1933 on a flight while he was searching for a valuable ore bed.[10][11]
Returning on October 9, 1937, Angel tried to land his Ryan Flamingo monoplane El Río Caroní; atop Auyan-tepui, but the plane was damaged when the wheels sank into the marshy ground, and he and his three companions, including his wife Marie, were forced to descend the tepui on foot. It took them 11 days to make their way back to civilization, but news of their adventure spread, and the waterfall was named Angel Falls in his honor.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/JimmieAngelPlane.jpg/220px-JimmieAngelPlane.jpg)
Angel's plane remained on top of the tepuy for 33 years before being lifted out by helicopter. It was restored at the Aviation Museum in Maracay and now sits outdoors on the front of the airport at Ciudad Bolívar.
The first recorded Westerner to reach the river that feeds the falls was Latvian explorer Aleksandrs Laime, also known as Alejandro Laime to the native Pemon tribe. He made the ascent of Auyan-tepui in 1955. He also reached Angel's plane on the same trip, 18 years after the crash landing. He gave the river feeding the falls the name Gauja after a river in Latvia, but the Pemon-given name of the river, Kerep, is still widely used.
Laime also was the first to clear a trail that leads from the Churun River to the base of the falls. On the way, there is a viewpoint commonly used to capture the falls in photographs. It is named Mirador Laime ("Laime's Viewpoint" in Spanish) in his honor. This trail is used now mostly for tourists, to lead them from the Isla Ratón camp to the small clearing.
The official height of the falls was determined by a National Geographic Society survey carried out by American journalist Ruth Robertson in 1949.[12]
A book by David Nott, Angels Four, chronicles the first successful climb up the face of Auyantepui to the top of the falls.
Tourism
Angel Falls (Kerepakupai merú) is one of Venezuela's top tourist attractions, but, even today, a trip to the falls is a complicated affair. The falls are located in an isolated jungle region of Venezuela, and a flight from Caracas or Ciudad Bolívar is required to reach Canaima camp, the starting point for river trips to the base of the falls. River trips generally take place from June to December, when the rivers are deep enough for the wooden curiaras used by the Pemon guides. During the dry season (December to March) there is less water seen than in the other months.
An alternative possibility is to purchase a package that includes an aerial flyby of the falls. However, since the falls cannot be seen on cloudy days, there is no guarantee visitors will see them from the air.
Pop Culture References
- Paradise Falls, featured in the animated Pixar film Up was inspired by Angel Falls (Kerepakupai merú).[13]
References
- ^ Angel Falls. (2006). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 28 July 2006, from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9007543
- ^ "What is considered a Waterfall?". World Waterfall Database. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
- ^ "What is considered a Waterfall?". World Waterfall Database. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
- ^ Carroll, Rory (2009-12-21). "Hugo Chávez renames Angel Falls". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
- ^ http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N20125231.htm
- ^ http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/noticia/132168/chavez-dice-que-no-decreto-el-cambio-de-nombre-del-salto-angel/
- ^ http://www.lasprovincias.es/agencias/20091223/mas-actualidad/tecnologia/chavez-dice-decreto-cambio-nombre_200912232237.html
- ^ The Lost World: Travel and information on the Gran Sabana, Canaima National Park, Venezuela, retrieved 14 Nov 2009
- ^ Sánchez Ramos, Valeriano: Farua: revista del Centro Virgitano de Estudios Históricos, ISSN 1138-4263, Nº. 8, 2005 , pags. 105-142. Disponible en Dialnet - Universidad de La Rioja (España)
- ^ Jimmie Angel ... An Explorer, 2008, retrieved 14 Nov 2009
- ^ Angel, Karen (2001), The Truth About Jimmie Angel & Angel Falls, retrieved 14 Nov 2009
- ^ Robertson, Ruth. "Jungle Journey to the World's Highest Waterfall.". In Jenkins, Mark (ed.). Worlds to Explore. National Geographic. ISBN 978-1-4262-0044-1.
- ^ "UP: British photographer inspiration for Disney Pixar movie". The Daily Telegraph. London. 2009-10-06. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- "Angel Falls". World Waterfall Database.
- Template:Wikitravel