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Iguassu National Park
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Brazil
The Devil's Gorge, fed by the river Iguassu, is a stunning waterfall 70 meters in height, which serves as a barrier separating two National Parks, one of which is in Argentina and the other in Brazil. Both have been declared World Heritage sites.
This spectacular sight lies on the border of Argentina and Brazil. It was simply named "great waters" by the local Indians. It consists of more than 270 cascades and waterfalls, situated on a fault and created by tectonic movements. The natives have named the falls: "Devil’s Throat", "Hidden Throat" and more. There is a legend about the rainbow that crosses over the waterfalls. God told the shaman "I will show the world a marvellous thing". No one believed him and on the night of a full moon, there was a flash of lightning, and suddenly a rainbow appeared. The misty clouds of water endlessly engulf the waterfalls. Spray rises continually, and forms a mist that climbs high into the sky. The water eventually falls onto the surrounding forest. It is this cycle of water that has nurtured diverse species of animals and vegetation in this subtropical jungle.
Created by federal decree nr. 1035 of January 10, 1939,The Iguaçú National Park is spectacular as well as pioneering. The first proposal for a Brazilian national park aimed at providing a pristine environment to "future generations", just as "it had been created by God" and endowed with "all possible preservation, from the beautiful to the sublime, from the picturesque to the awesome" and "an unmatched flora" located in the "magnificent Iguaçú waterfalls". These were the words used by Andre Rebouças, an engineer, in his book "Provinces of Paraná, Railways to Mato Grosso and Bolivia", which started up the campaign aimed at preserving the Iguaçú Falls way back in 1876, when Yellowstone, the first national park on the planet, was four years old.