Sunwapta Falls Canada

Sunwapta Falls is a waterfall of the Sunwapta River located in Jasper National Park, Canada. Sunwapta is a Stoney word, which means “turbulent river”.  Sunwapta waterfall is most spectacular in the late spring when the water flow is at its peak. The water actually originates from the Athabasca Glacier, and massive volumes are high in early summer caused by glacial meltdown. Sunwapta falls is accessible via a short drive off the Ice fields Parkway that connects Jasper and Banff National Parks. The falls have a lovely drop of around 18.5 metres. Moreover; there’re actually two falls, one is a lower and an upper one. Normally majority of tourist sees the upper falls which access is relevant easy. The lower falls are a short distance away.

At the falls, the Sunwapta River suddenly changes course from northwest to southwest and plunges in a cloud of spray into a deep canyon. This is a picnic spot, and seasonal accommodation and dining are available, as are picnic sites. A frozen wonder in winter, Sunwapta Falls will delight photographers with its eerie "ice sculptures". Sunwapta Falls was another one of those waterfalls which is same to Athabasca falls. Furthermore, the walkways and viewing areas didn’t as extensive as that of Athabasca Falls, but it’s pretty much safe views that could possibly get in less than 15 minutes from the car park.

The Sunwapta falls is really marvelous place and there’s nothing like that gorgeous turquoise water. Sunwapta falls is a famous and frequently photographed waterfall on Sunwapta River. The gorgeous glacial waters of river are dividing around a treed island. Wet black limestone spire sticks out of the face of the falls, and falls burst out of a constricted gorge into a potent milky plunge. If you’re photography lover, then you must go the upper falls which’s more photogenic Canadian waterfall. This waterfall is definite combination of majestic beauty of Mother Nature.

Athabasca Falls, Jasper National Park in Alberta Canada

Athabasca Falls is a waterfall in Jasper National Park on the upper Athabasca River, approximately 30 kilometers south of the town site of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, and just west of the Ice fields Parkway. An influential, attractive waterfall, because Athabasca Falls is not recognized so much for the height of the falls (23 metres), as it is recognized for its force due to the large quantity of water falling into the gorge. However even on a cold morning, when river levels tend to be at their lowest point, copious amounts of water flow over the falls. The river 'falls' over a layer of hard quartzite and through the softer limestone below carving the short gorge and a number of potholes. 

The falls can be securely watched and snapped from numerous viewing platforms and walking trails around the falls. The rocks near the brink of the falls may look tempting you, but they can be deadly slippery, as many an unlucky soul has realized only too late. So it is highly suggested don't become an Athabasca Falls statistic. Over the years the waterfall has moved back and forth in its search for the path of least resistance, cutting and abandoning channels as it goes. One such channel has been established with stairs and trail for easy exploration. It also gives you to access to viewpoints at the bottom of the main canyon and to the river bank beyond.

Therefore access is from the adjacent parking lot, which leads off Highway 93A just northeast of the falls. Highway 93A takes off from the close Ice fields Parkway, and crosses the falls on the way north to the town of Jasper. White water rafting often starts below the falls to travel downstream on the Athabasca River to Jasper. Athabasca Falls is not the highest or the widest waterfall in the Canadian Rockies but it is the most powerful. Athabasca falls is one of major tourists sight, and extremely busy in midsummer days. If you want to avoid from rush, then you do the visit on early morning, or after dinner time. Hence maximum trail system is well paved but stairs limit access for people in wheelchairs. Without any doubt, this is wonderful picnic spot, with lot of picnic tables, kitchen shelter and washrooms. 

It is a Class five waterfall, with a drop of 80 feet and a width of 60 feet. It is observed that majority of folks who visit Athabasca falls do not give it sufficient time. They just rush to the falls, take a photograph and they’re gone. Why not poke around? Give some more time to explore the zone looking for signs of abandoned waterfalls and other water worn rock. Stand in the spray at the closest viewpoint, or just hang out and enjoy the view.

Cascade l'éventail Waterfall France

L'Eventail is one of the two largest Herisson Waterfalls. It is also called Les Cascades du Herisson (The Hérisson Waterfalls or Waterfalls of the Hérisson; also Les Cascades de Hérisson with one less definite article) was possibly the one waterfall excursion in France that made us must see waterfalls in our sleep. That was because the Herisson Valley harbored at least seven significant waterfalls on the Herisson River (at least three of them were major high-volume waterfalls of over 35m) plus we noticed a few side cascades and waterfalls draining into the river itself. A path (leaving from Doucier, further west) leads to the foot of the Cascade de l'Eventail, from where there is the best view. The path then leads very steeply uphill to the top of the waterfall.

The Herisson River was sourced by Lake Bonlieu and the Ilay Lakes so the waterfalls were said to flow year-round. Actually, this site was well-thought-out a heritage site in France due to its history of human habitation as well as its scenic attraction. This beautiful waterfall series was the main picturesque attraction in the Jura department of the Franche-Comté region an area that was also recognized as le pays qui respire or the country that breathes (suggesting you can relax and have room to breathe here). Surely, after partaking in our own self-guided hike while breathing in the cool and misty mountain air, it certainly felt like we were in a very distant part of the country. 

 

Soource: Charismatic Planet

Four Corners Monument, Where Four Different States Meet at the Same Time in Arizona

The stunning Four Corners Monument is the only place in the United States where you can be in four different states at the same time which is Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. This is the exact place where the corners of the four states meet. Which has a granite and brass monument has been erected to mark the spot. The originality of these intersecting boundaries makes Four Corners an admired popular tourist destination. The four corner monument is situated in the desert on the Navajo Indian Reservation, and in spite of its remote location and lack of facilities even there’s no electricity or running water, and no telephones or cell phone coverage, myriad of tourists pour past the admissions gate every hour because of the unique photo opportunities the site provides.

Moreover the Monument seems to induce strong emotions in individuals, reads the guide to the monument on travel encyclopedia Wiki Travel. Tourists are either massively underwhelmed by this magnetism, even angry they drove so far out of their way to see so little, or they’re inordinately satisfied with running from state to state and having their picture taken. Moreover the Four Corners Monument comprises of a granite disk embedded with a smaller bronze disk around the point, surrounded by smaller, properly situated state seals and flags representing both the states and tribal nations of the area. Circling the point, starting from north, the disk reads with two words in each state. Here meet in freedom under God four states. Around the monument, local Navajo and Ute artisans sell souvenirs and food.

Well, in 1875, the intersection of the borders was first marked with a sandstone shaft by the surveyor Chandler Robbins. By 1899, the sandstone shaft marker had been disturbed and broken; hence it was replaced with a fresh stone. In 1912, the first cement pad was poured around the marker. Over the years, the marker was rebuilt and upgraded a multiple times to its present form; the last renovation being done in 2010. However in 2009, reports release out to media that a survey done by the National Geodetic Survey had discovered that the original survey done in 1878 was inaccurate, and the actual borders between Colorado and Utah were reported to be 2.5 miles to the west. Though what the media had forgotten was when the initial surveys were conducted; the Washington meridian was used instead of the Prime Meridian, resulting in the offset.

Although we cannot exaggerate the fact that the aforementioned technical geodetic details are completely moot when considering any question of the correctness or validity of the Four Corners monument in marking the intersection of the four states,” wrote the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), in a clarification. “Indeed, the monument marks the exact spot where the four states meet. Therefore a basic tenet of boundary surveying is that once a monument has been established and accepted by the parties involved in the case of the Four Corners monument, the parties were the four territories and the U.S. Congress, the location of the physical monument is the ultimate authority in delineating a boundary. Issues of legality trump scientific details, and the intended location of the point becomes secondary information. In surveying, monuments rule.

Waterwheel Falls in Yosemite National Park United States

The beautiful Tuolumne River can be found in the state of California, in the United States, where it rises in central Sierra Nevada in Yosemite National Park, lovely flowing westward through the foothills to its confluence with the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley, near Modesto. Well, the section of the river beginning immediately below Tuolumne Meadows and finishing just shy of Hetch Hetchy Valley, which is famous as the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. Therefore, the riverbed forms a spectacular staircase through much of thirty-three miles, following in a series of striking waterfalls. Maybe the greatest of these is the 800-foot Waterwheel Falls, the largest waterfalls on the Tuolumne River. Well, at the Waterwheel Falls, the river dashes down a slanted surface and come into a series of small ledges initiating the water to deflect away from the rock surface in great arches, similar waterwheels. Moreover during the high-water season (in early summer), columns or waterwheels, of water can rise 15 to 20 feet high.