Angel Falls

Have you ever heard of Angel Falls? It's the highest waterfall in the world, deep in the jungles of Venezuela. Few people have ever seen Angel Falls. It's very hard to get there. If you went by land, you would have to travel for weeks through thick jungles. If you went by plane from Caracas, a city on the northern coast, it would take about four hours.

What would it be like to take a trip by plane from Caracas to the falls? For hundreds of miles you would fly southeast over green plains. Then the land would become higher, and you would see mountains with forests. Soon the land would level out to high plateaus. Finally, you would fly toward a deep canyon with steep, rocky sides.

Suddenly you would see a silver thread in the distance. Then as your plane flew closer, you would see the waterfall more clearly. You would see water falling over half a mile straight down the cliff. It is a sight you would never forget.

No one knew about this high waterfall until 1930. In that year James Angel, an American pilot, flew over the area. As he was flying over the mountains and canyons, he suddenly saw a waterfall. It was an impressive sight: the water seemed to be dropping straight out of the clouds.

In 1941 an American expedition explored and measured the falls. From the top to the bottom, the water falls more than 3 200 feet. These falls are over 1 000 feet higher than any other falls in the world.