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American Falls in New York, part of Niagara Falls, is one of the most famous waterfalls in the world, but at 176 feet high it isn't nearly as tall as some of the tallest. What are the five highest waterfalls in the world? See more pictures of waterfalls.
Everyone likes a list. Every year, Forbes Magazine lists the 50 richest people in the world. Every Christmas, children make wish lists to send to Santa Claus. For music, there are the Billboard charts, which list on a weekly basis the top-selling albums and singles, and at the end of every year newspapers, magazines and Web sites compile their favorite CDs and songs. Lists about space conspiracies and diamond heists are also pretty cool.
One category some nature enthusiasts go crazy over is waterfalls. Although a waterfall seems simple in nature -- it's usually a river that plunges over a rocky ledge into a pool of water, only to continue flowing as a river -- the visual effect one creates can be stunning. And the higher waterfalls get, the more interesting they become, since there's more potential for crashing upon rocks and twisting designs against a mountainside. A list about the five highest waterfalls in the world, therefore, should be particularly satisfactory.
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Although there are several very tall waterfalls in Europe -- the sixth- and seventh-tallest, for instance, are in Norway -- and in other areas like New Zealand, the five highest in the world are almost all located in the Americas. South America claims a whopping three out of the five highest waterfalls, while the remaining giants are found in South Africa and the United States.
Many of these waterfalls aren't very well known, and that's not because they aren't interesting or captivating -- it's mostly because they're very remote, and it would be difficult for tourists to visit one of these spots. And because they're so far out of the way, a few of them were only recently discovered. The fascinating thing is that although this list is up-to-date, there may be other waterfalls out there even taller than these five. So next time you're backpacking in the Amazon, keep your eyes peeled.
To learn about the five highest waterfalls in the world, read the next few pages.
