Defining the "largest" waterfall is no simple task. Experts weigh several metrics—height, width, and water volume—to rank the most impressive cascades on Earth. Below is a concise guide to the current leaders in each category, along with the latest measurement updates that have reshaped the rankings.
Angel Falls, locally known as Kerepakupai Merú, sits in Venezuela’s Canaima National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Historically celebrated as the world’s tallest waterfall, its original 979‑meter drop has been re‑evaluated.
Recent laser‑scanning surveys have trimmed the figure to 807 m (2,648 ft), excluding a prolonged gradual descent that was previously counted. While this places it 13th on the World Waterfall Database, it remains one of the globe’s most spectacular vertical drops.
Perched on South Africa’s Drakensberg escarpment, Tugela Falls now claims the title of tallest waterfall with a cumulative height of 948 m (3,110 ft). The series of seven tiers splits the flow into segments, yielding a lower volume than Angel Falls but an unambiguous vertical record.
Straddling the Zambia–Zimbabwe border on the Zambezi River, Victoria Falls—Mosi‑oa‑Tunya, meaning “thundering smoke”—spans 1,708 m (5,604 ft) across its width, while its vertical drop measures 108 m (354 ft). It holds the distinction of the world’s largest sheet of falling water.
On the Brazil–Argentina frontier, Iguazú Falls, another UNESCO site, stretches 2,700 m (8,858 ft) across 275 separate drops, with the tallest individual plunge reaching 82 m (269 ft). Its annual discharge averages 1,746 m³/s (61,660 ft³/s), ranking it among the top six global flow rates.
Situated on the US–Canada border, Niagara Falls comprises three distinct falls: Horseshoe (Canadian) at 57 m (187 ft), American Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls. Collectively, the combined flow peaks at 2,407 m³/s (7,897 ft³/s), the largest discharge of any North American waterfall.
