D3-1 Water Erosion
The Iguacu River has eroded this large gorge on the border between Brazil and Argentina.

Everyone has seen the effects of erosion by water. These effects can be very large like water carving out a huge gorge, or very small like mud and soil washing out of your garden as a result of rainfall. As a matter of fact, water is the Earth’s most important agent of erosion.

Try This!
Niagara Falls has eroded a 58 km (36 mile) long gorge over the course of the last 12,500 years.

Drop Zone

Waterfalls are among the most impressive examples in nature of the power of water erosion.

This table illustrates the erosion power of some notable waterfalls in North America. Click on each name in order to visit that waterfall.

Waterfall Location Significant Feature
     
Niagara Falls Ontario (Canada) / New York (U.S.) Niagara Falls is the world’s greatest waterfall by volume with a maximum flow every second of 2,800 m3 (6 million feet3) of water.
Yosemite Falls Yosemite National Park, California At a height of 239 m (2,425 feet), Yosemite Falls is the 20th highest waterfall in the world. Yosemite Falls actually consists of three separate sections.
Lower Falls of the Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming With a height of 94 m (308 feet), these falls are nearly twice the height of Niagara Falls.
Shoshone Falls Idaho These falls, formed by the Snake River, are known as the “Niagara of the West”. They have a height of 64.7 m (212 feet); 14 m (45 feet) higher than Niagara Falls.