Changbai Waterfall () is a 68 m (223 ft)
waterfall
A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...
in
China in
Changbai Mountain
Paektu Mountain (), also known as Baekdu Mountain and in China as Changbai Mountain ( zh, s=长白山, t=長白山; Manchu: Golmin Šanggiyan Alin), is an active stratovolcano on the Chinese–North Korean border. At , it is the highest moun ...
in the
Changbai Mountain Range.
Geography
The Changbai Waterfall is 68m tall. It is the largest waterfall originating from a crater lake.
It is most dramatic during the summer snow-melt season from the
Lake Tianchi or "Heaven Lake" ()
Tiānchí basin. Tianchi lake is usually frozen over until late June or July. Flow over the waterfall is reduced in winter months but it never completely freezes over since the lake drains from depth below the ice and the water is geothermally heated beneath year-round. The current
China–North Korea border
The China–North Korea border is the international border separating the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). It runs for 1,352 km (840 mi) from the estuary of the Yalu River in th ...
passes nearby, through the center of the alpine Lake Tianchi.
Julong Hot Springs below the falls create pools full of colorful algae that thrive in the geothermal water upwelling. This contributes headwater flow to the young
Songhua river
The Songhua or Sunghwa River (also Haixi or Xingal, russian: Сунгари ''Sungari'') is one of the primary rivers of China, and the longest tributary of the Amur. It flows about from the Changbai Mountains on the China–North Korea bo ...
. The Songhua flows northward into the Amur, forming China's border with Russia, and eventually into the Sea of Okhotsk facing Sakhalin Island and the northern Pacific.
Culture
Folk religion
Koreans and Jilin residents traditionally consider the waters of the lake to be sacred. Many Korean-speaking natives bring a bottle to capture some
sacred water.
Tourism
Access to the waterfall is available year-round via a sheltered VIP path up the mountain (visible in photos to the right of the falls). The path is fully enclosed but has windows spaced along the steps. The enclosure protects the path from blockage by snowfall and ice, and is closed during summer.
References
External links
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Landforms of Jilin
Waterfalls of China
{{Jilin-geo-stub