Waterfalls, Ranked

At 979 m (3,212 ft) it is the tallest uninterrupted waterfall on Earth, plunging off Auyán-tepui in the Canaima wilderness. Sheer height puts it in a class of its own.

A system of roughly 275 individual falls stretching almost 3 km, it is one of the largest waterfall systems in the world. Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly said 'poor Niagara' on seeing it.

Roughly 1,708 m wide and 108 m tall, it forms the largest single sheet of falling water on the planet. Its spray plume is visible from dozens of kilometers away.

The most famous waterfall on Earth, carrying the highest flow rate of any waterfall in North America at over 2,400 cubic meters per second. Iconic, if heavily commercialized.

A single 226 m drop combined with enormous flow makes it one of the most powerful single-drop waterfalls in the world. Nearly five times taller than Niagara.

At 739 m (2,425 ft) across three tiers, it is the tallest waterfall in North America. A defining landmark of Yosemite National Park.

A 2016 Czech survey measured its total drop at 983 m, making it a genuine rival to Angel Falls for the title of world's tallest. It runs thin or dry outside the rainy season, though.

Fed by glacial meltwater, it is reputed to be the most powerful waterfall in Europe by sheer force — huge volume plunging over a 44 m drop. Its raw, thundering violence opened the film Prometheus.

Iceland's 'Golden Falls' drops the Hvítá river in two dramatic stages into a rugged canyon. Saved from a hydroelectric scheme in the early 20th century and now a Golden Circle staple.

On Havasupai land near the Grand Canyon, its vivid blue-green water comes from high calcium-carbonate content. A remote 16 km hike keeps it pristine.

A 189 m two-tier fall in the Columbia River Gorge, crowned by the photogenic Benson Bridge. One of the most-visited natural sites in the Pacific Northwest.

A clean 60 m curtain 25 m wide, it throws up so much spray that single or double rainbows are common on sunny days. Solid and scenic, but modest next to the giants.

The largest plain waterfall in Europe by flow, but only about 23 m tall — it wins on width and volume, not drama. Impressive up close, unremarkable in a height ranking.

A cascade far more famous for fiction than form — it is where Arthur Conan Doyle killed off Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty. The literary legend outsizes the actual water.

A pretty 188 m ribbon in Yosemite, but so slight that wind routinely blows it sideways before it hits the ground. Charming, and thoroughly overshadowed by its neighbors.

Once among the highest-volume waterfalls on Earth, it was completely submerged in 1982 by the reservoir of the Itaipu Dam and dynamited afterward. A magnificent falls that simply no longer exists.