What do you think of this fact?
Water falling down a waterfall underwater? Sounds like a riddle. But that’s exactly what the largest waterfall in the world is.
A fall nobody can see
The Denmark Strait lies between Greenland and Iceland. According to the US agency NOAA, the largest waterfall on Earth is hidden beneath its surface: the Denmark Strait cataract.
Very cold water from the Nordic Seas flows south there and meets warmer water. Cold water is denser and therefore heavier. So it sinks below the warm water and plunges over an edge on the seafloor.
The numbers
According to NOAA, about 3.5 million cubic meters of water flow down every second. That’s far more than any waterfall on land.
According to Live Science, the water drops about 3,500 meters in total. The fall itself measures about 2,000 meters, roughly double the height of Angel Falls in Venezuela, the tallest waterfall on land.
Bonus fact: You won’t hear the cataract thunder. According to Live Science, the water only moves at about half a meter per second, much slower than at Niagara Falls.
Of course, you can’t see this waterfall, not from a ship and not from a plane. It all happens below the surface, in the cold, dark water of the North Atlantic.
It still matters, though. The falling cold water is part of the big ocean currents that carry heat and nutrients around the globe. Those currents also influence weather and climate in Europe.
So whenever you stand in awe at a waterfall, keep in mind: the truly biggest one is flowing quietly and invisibly between Greenland and Iceland.