The largest waterfall in the world is the Denmark Strait cataract. This waterfall is located in the Jakobshavn ice stream and stretches for nearly 80 km into Nares Strait, thereby breaking this record.
The total volume of water falls annually from the falls is unknown, but it may be estimated to be one cubic kilometer annually, which calls for a yearly average of 5 to 10 meters per second. In addition, this tremendous cascade has been seen by only five people!
It was discovered by Dr. Robert Peary, in 1900, when he ascended to the head of Kennedy Bay in North Star Bay in his ship Josephine and surveyed Ward Hunt Channel from a point opposite its mouth.
The fall is 180 feet high and 1,600 feet wide, with a free-fall distance of 2,400 feet.
Contrary to many people’s perceptions, the Denmark Strait is not actually a small body of water. Situated between Iceland and Greenland, it stretches for over 1,850 miles across the North Atlantic Ocean. This enormous expanse (almost 1/8) could be called quite an obstacle to anyone wishing to cross by boat–especially during stormy seas. Couple this with the fact that the strait is actually at depths reaching up 12,000 feet below sea level; due to these factors, it has effectively harnessed itself as one of (if not) the most feared bodies of water in existence today. If you’d like to learn more about your other fears under pressure within the deep-sea environment.
