Profile
Settings
Refer your friends
Sign out
It’s the shape you get when a stream is channeled into a small hanging canyon before shooting over a drop, resulting in a plunge pool that looks like a punch bowl from a party.
Punch Bowl Falls, located in the Eagle Creek section of the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, were the inspiration for this category.
Punch Bowl Falls in Oregon, Tawhai Falls in Tongariro National Park, New Zealand, and Cedar Creek Falls in Ramona, California are all examples of punchbowl waterfalls.
Waterfalls
A waterfall is a steep drop of water from a river or other body of water into a plunge pool below. Cascades are another name for waterfalls.
Formation of Waterfall:
Erosion, or the wearing away of the earth, is a major factor in the production of waterfalls. The erosion caused by waterfalls is also a factor.
Streams that flow from soft rock to hard rock frequently generate waterfalls. This occurs both laterally (as a stream flows across the earth) and vertically (as a mountain range rises) (as the stream drops in a waterfall). The soft rock erodes in both circumstances, leaving a firm ledge over which the stream flows.
The imaginary line along which parallel rivers tumble as they flow from uplands to lowlands is known as a fall line. The presence of numerous waterfalls in a given area aids geologists and hydrologists in determining a region’s fall line and underlying rock structure.
Sediment is carried by streams as they flow. Microscopic silt, pebbles, or even boulders might be found in the sediment. Soft rock stream beds, such as sandstone or limestone, can be eroded by sediment. The stream’s channel eventually cuts so deeply into the streambed that only tougher rock, such as granite, is left. As these granite rocks produce cliffs and ledges, waterfalls form.
As a stream approaches a waterfall, its velocity rises, increasing the amount of erosion. The velocity of water at the top of a waterfall can erode boulders into flat, smooth surfaces. The plunge pool at the base of the waterfall is being eroded by rushing water and sediment. The water’s smashing surge may also form powerful whirlpools that damage the plunge pool’s granite beneath them.
The ensuing erosion at a waterfall’s base can be significant, causing the cascade to “recede.” The region behind the waterfall has eroded, resulting in a hollow, cave-like structure known as a “rock shelter.” The rocky outcropping (also known as the outcropping) may eventually collapse, hurling rocks into the stream bed and plunge pool below. The waterfall “recesses” many metres upstream as a result of this. The waterfall erosion process resumes, causing the stones of the old outcropping to crumble.
Waterfalls can be formed by a variety of processes, including erosion. A waterfall can occur when a fault or break in the Earth’s surface is crossed. An earthquake, landslide, glacier, or volcano can all assist create waterfalls by disrupting stream beds.
Classification of Waterfall:
There is no universal classification system for waterfalls. The average volume of water in a waterfall is used by some scientists to classify waterfalls. The width of a waterfall is another frequent way to categorise it. Waterfalls are also categorised based on their height. Type is one of the most popular, if not the least scientific, methods to categorise waterfalls. The way a waterfall descends determines its type. Most waterfalls fall under multiple categories.
Segmented Waterfall:
The water in this sort of waterfall first falls down in a restricted form before spreading out into a large catch pool at the bottom. The Punchbowl Waterfall is mainly peaceful, and swimming beneath it is usually straightforward. Punch Bowl Falls in Eagle Creek, located in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area of Oregon, is a famous example of this style of the waterfall. The Wailua Falls in Kauai, Hawaii; the Tawhai Falls in Tongariro National Park, New Zealand; and the Cedar Creek Falls in Ramona, California are all examples of this style of the waterfall.
Conclusion
The punchbowl is a subcategory of the plunge waterfall. A constrained flow of waterfalls from a ledge and spreads out into a pool below.
These waterfalls are especially appealing because they have large pools where you may swim. The water a short distance from the waterfall is usually calm, but venturing too near to the fall might be perilous. Punch Bowl Falls on Eagle Creek in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, pictured here, is a beautiful example of a punchbowl waterfall.
Many visitors are drawn to the falls and pool because of their beauty, yet they can be dangerous. Some of the daredevils who plunged from the cliff into the water below have perished.
Wailua Falls on Kauai, Hawai’i, is another popular punchbowl waterfall. It’s so striking that it was used in the opening scene of “Fantasy Island,” a long-running TV show.
