Imagine standing at the foot of the world's tallest building and looking up. Now imagine a waterfall even taller than that, spilling off the edge of a flat-topped mountain in the middle of a remote rainforest. That's not a fantasy. It's a real place in Venezuela.
The short answer: Angel Falls is the world's tallest uninterrupted waterfall, with a total height of 3,212 feet and a single plunge of 2,648 feet. For comparison, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest building on Earth, reaches about 2,717 feet to its roof. Counting its full height, Angel Falls stands well above it.
Where the Water Falls From
Angel Falls pours over the edge of Auyán-tepui, a mountain in Venezuela's Canaima National Park. A tepui is a table-top mountain, with sheer cliffs on the sides and a flat summit on top. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The official height includes more than just the main drop. Below the big plunge come about 1,300 feet of sloping cascades and rapids, followed by another 100-foot drop. The water eventually feeds into a chain of rivers that flows into the mighty Orinoco.
Named After a Daring Pilot
The falls weren't known to the outside world until November 16, 1933, when an American aviator named Jimmie Angel flew over them while searching for a valuable ore bed.
He came back in 1937 and tried to land his small plane on top of Auyán-tepui. The wheels sank into the marshy ground and the plane was damaged. Angel, his wife Marie, and two companions had to hike down the mountain on foot. It took them 11 days to get back to civilization.
News of their adventure spread, and the waterfall was named in his honor. His plane sat on top of the tepui for 33 years before a helicopter lifted it out. Restored, it now stands outside the airport at Ciudad Bolívar. When Jimmie Angel died, his ashes were scattered over the falls in 1960.
Measuring a Giant
The official height came from a 1949 expedition organized and paid for by American journalist Ruth Robertson. Her team was also the first expedition to reach the foot of the falls.
Still, there's a bit of friendly debate. The measurements of Angel Falls and South Africa's Tugela Falls were both taken from a considerable distance, and there's still some uncertainty over which is truly taller. For now, Angel Falls keeps the title of tallest uninterrupted waterfall.
Climbing the Cliff
Of course, someone wanted to climb it. A 1968 attempt failed on slippery rock during the wet season. A 1969 try in the dry season was stopped by a lack of water and an overhang near the top.
Finally, on January 13, 1971, a four-man team led by George Bogel, an electrical engineer from Pittsburgh, reached the top. It took them nine and a half days to climb up and a day and a half to rappel back down.
A Wonder Worth Imagining
In 2009, Venezuela's president announced he wanted to give the falls an indigenous Pemon name instead, saying the land was indigenous long before Angel arrived. He later said he wouldn't force an official change.
Whatever you call it, Angel Falls is a reminder that nature built skyscrapers long before we did, and its version still comes out on top.
