The Gavarnie Falls ( French: Grande Cascade de Gavarnie) is a tiered

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 several wa ...

in France. With its overall drop of 422 metres, it is the highest waterfall in mainland

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The falls are situated in the

Cirque de Gavarnie __NOTOC__ The Cirque de Gavarnie is a cirque in the central Pyrenees, in Southwestern France, close to the border of Spain. It is within the commune of Gavarnie, the department of Hautes-Pyrénées, and the Pyrénées National Park. Major feat ...

, near the

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

Gavarnie Gavarnie (; oc, Gavarnia) is a former commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department, Southwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Gavarnie-Gèdre.Hautes-Pyrénées Hautes-Pyrénées (; Gascon/Occitan: ''Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus'' awts piɾeˈnɛʊs es, Altos Pirineos; ca, Alts Pirineus alts piɾiˈneʊs English: Upper Pyrenees) is a department in the region of Occitania, southwestern France. ...

. The waterfall is the beginning of the Gave de Pau stream. It is fed by a melting snow and a small glacier, located in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. This water seeps underground until it appears at the upper rim of waterfall. The average annual flow in the waterfall is 3 m³/s. In summer, when the snowmelt is most intense, it can reach up to 200 m³/s. In winter it sometimes freezes and stops flowing. The waterfall has 2 - 3 steps; the height of the tallest drop is 281 m. Image:Cirque et cascade de Gavarnie.JPG,

, with the waterfall to the left File:Gavarnie-Cirque.JPG, Centre of the cirque in summer File:Cirque_de_Gavarnie,_Haute-Pyrénées,_France.jpg, Wider view of Cirque de Gavarnie

References

External links

World Waterfall Database
Landforms of Hautes-Pyrénées Pyrenees Waterfalls of France Tourist attractions in Hautes-Pyrénées Tiered waterfalls {{HautesPyrénées-geo-stub