There are few rules in nature as dependable as this one: water runs downhill. Rivers flow to the sea, rain falls from clouds, and waterfalls tumble from cliffs. So when people first see a waterfall that seems to be pouring up into the sky, it's understandable if they rub their eyes and look again.
Here's the short answer: the water isn't defying gravity. It's being blown. When a strong wind slams into a cliff face, it can shoot upward with enough force to catch the falling water and fling it back up and over the top. The effect is called a reverse waterfall, and it usually takes winds above about 47 miles per hour.
England's Famous Backward Falls
One of the best-known examples is Kinder Downfall, the tallest waterfall in England's Peak District, with a drop of about 98 feet. It sits on the River Kinder, a small river only about three miles long that rises on the high peat moorland plateau of Kinder Scout.
Much of the year, Kinder Downfall is quite modest. In summer it's often little more than a trickle. But after heavy rain it becomes impressive, and when a strong west wind blows, the water is pushed back on itself. The resulting cloud of spray can be seen from several miles away.
The show is most common in autumn and winter, when strong winds sweep across the Peak District's high ground. In very cold winters, the waterfall can even freeze solid, and climbers use it for ice climbing. Below the falls, the River Kinder flows on into Kinder Reservoir, which was built between 1903 and 1912 to supply water to the town of Stockport.
Reverse Waterfalls Around the World
Kinder Downfall isn't alone. Reverse waterfalls have been seen anywhere strong winds meet falling water. In India, the monsoon brings them to places like Naneghat near Mumbai and the hills around Amboli. In Japan, Furepe Falls in Shiretoko National Park, which drops toward the Sea of Okhotsk, gets turned around by strong winds.
In Australia, a windstorm once caused reverse waterfalls in several places around Sydney and the Royal National Park. In Ireland, they appeared at the Cliffs of Moher during Storm Ciarán in November 2023. Here in the United States, one was spotted on a cliff in Ivins, Utah, in January 2023, and Waipuhia Falls on Oahu, Hawaii, is known for being reversed by the trade winds.
The Smoke Falls of Brazil
In Brazil's Chapada Diamantina National Park, there's a waterfall that's named for this very effect. Cachoeira da Fumaça, or Smoke Falls, plunges about 1,120 feet. Its thin stream of water is sprayed apart by the wind before it ever reaches the ground, so it looks more like drifting smoke than falling water. Depending on the season, it can also dry up completely.
A Walk With a View
Kinder Scout has its own place in history, too. In 1932, it was the site of the Kinder Scout Mass Trespass, and today the Pennine Way, one of Britain's famous long-distance trails, crosses the river just above the Downfall.
So if you ever find yourself on a blustery hilltop and see a waterfall misbehaving, don't worry. Gravity is still working just fine. The wind is simply having a little fun with it, and you're lucky enough to have a front-row seat.
