Angel Falls

Angel Falls lies in Bolívar state in southeastern Venezuela, on the Churún River, a tributary of the Caroní. It is situated in Canaima National Park, a large protected area extending across the Guiana Highlands. The waterfall descends from Auyán-Tepui, one of the region's steep-sided, flat-topped mountains known as tepuis. The park's cliffs, waterfalls, forest and savanna form part of a distinctive landscape with substantial geological and biological importance.

Britannica describes Angel Falls as dropping 979 metres (3,212 feet), including a long uninterrupted plunge. UNESCO's description of Canaima National Park rounds the height of the park's highest waterfall to about 1,000 metres. The figures reflect different levels of rounding; both sources identify the site as the world's highest waterfall. Britannica notes that the stream leaps from a flat-topped plateau and barely contacts the sheer cliff face.

The waterfall is known internationally as Angel Falls and in Spanish as Salto Ángel. Britannica also records Indigenous names including Kerepakupai Merú and Parecupa Merú, and the name Salto Churún Merú. It was named for American aviator and adventurer James Angel, whose aircraft crash-landed on a nearby mesa in 1937. The surrounding Canaima National Park is inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List for its exceptional natural landscape.

Canaima National Park covers roughly three million hectares in southeastern Venezuela. UNESCO notes that about 65 percent of the park is covered by tepui formations—table mountains with distinctive geological and biological characteristics. Their sheer escarpments and waterfalls are defining features of the landscape. Angel Falls' setting connects the waterfall to the broader geology of the Guiana Highlands rather than making it an isolated feature.