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"Waterfall or Rapid" |
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Shown below are the
"official" descriptions of waterfalls and rapids... defining waterfalls and
rapids to fit into the "official classes" as defined below is "next to
impossible"... defining them is a very subjective
endeavor. Its even difficult to determine if its a waterfall or rapids...
by definition, a Class V Rapid is a "soaring fall" (so is it a rapid or a
fall???)... Class IV Rapid has "drops and waves"; Tiered waterfalls have "drops
in a series" (so are drops a rapid or waterfall???). So... we choose not
to get involved in that discussion and therefore do not attempt to define the
waterfalls and rapids shown on our pages! It gets even more confusing with
names... some of the "waterfalls" shown on our pages are clearly "rapids", but
their official names are "falls"... rather difficult to define them as
rapids when their official name is waterfall! We also decline to "rate"
the beauty or intensity, etc. of waterfalls and rapids... again, this is a very subjective thing... what we
may like about a waterfall, for any number of reasons, may not be at all
interesting to someone else! So, we "mostly" leave the "rating" and
"definitions of whether its a waterfall or rapid" to you the viewer! |
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Types of waterfalls: Block...
Water descends from a relatively wide stream or river.
Cascade...
Water descends a series of rock steps.
Cataract...
A large waterfall.
Fan...
Water spreads horizontally as it descends while remaining in contact with
bedrock.
Horsetail...
Descending water maintains some contact with bedrock.
Plunge...
Water descends vertically, losing contact with the bedrock surface.
Punchbowl...
Water
descends in a constricted form, then spreads out in a wider pool.
Segmented...
Distinctly separate flows of water form as it descends.
Tiered...
Water drops in a series of distinct steps or falls.
Multistep...
A series of waterfalls one after another of roughly the same size each with its
own sunken plunge pool. |
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Naming of waterfalls:
If a
stream has a waterfall, then 50 yards of
“flat water”, then another waterfall...
how are they named? Is that one
waterfall or two waterfalls?
Exactly how far apart must they be to
call them two waterfalls? As an
example... in Amnicon State Park,
Amnicon Falls Upper and Amnicon Falls
Lower are separated by a distance of 200
feet. Another example... Potato
Falls Upper and Willard Falls are
separated by 80 feet of “flat water”...
so what is the “official” distance that
falls must be apart to name them
separate waterfalls? Or is
there a better solution on how to name
nearby waterfalls? Our
solution is to name them as two separate
falls when there is “flat water” between
the falls.
You
may ask, why is naming important? Here is an example.
When we first went to Upson Falls, we
drove in the parking lot and found the
nice falls just 100 feet to the east...
we took pictures and left. Later
in a search of Google Earth we found
that what we saw was only part of the
Upson series of falls! So, we went
back and took pictures of two other
falls upstream from the first one we
viewed! Nothing at the site tells
you that there are two other falls
upstream! The “middle” upson falls
is 180 feet upstream and not visible
from the “lower” falls and the “upper”
falls is another 90 feet upstream!
If they were named lower, middle and
upper we would not have had to make the
second trip! |
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Types of Rapids:
(Rapids
are classified on the basis of navigational difficulty) --
Class I...
Has small waves in fast moving water and very few obstacles.
Class II...
Has wide channels and rapids that are easy to navigate, without many turns or
obstacles. Small waves less than two feet high.
Class III...
Intermediate. Strong currents require training and ability to maneuver
quickly and effectively. Guide required. Not suitable for young
children. Class
IV...
Advanced. Guide required. Not suitable for young children.
Powerful rapids for strong paddlers that can handle fierce turns and spins.
Drops and waves are common.
Class V...
Expert. Guide required. Not suitable for young children.
Violent, dangerous rapids, usually formed through obstructed channels, tight
turns, and soaring falls.
Class VI...
Unrunnable. Likelihood of death in attempting class 6 runs. |
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And then we get to definitions:
What is the correct definition of a
waterfalls, rapids, and spillways??? Our website is dedicated to the
discussion of waterfalls, rapids and spillways of Wisconsin... searching for new
ones, discussing new details about sites already known, and discussions of
general interest. The comments that follow are about definitions...
when should you call it a waterfall, when do you call it a rapid, and when do
you call it a spillway? A “somewhat boring” subject but we have
problems with many dictionary definitions! Read the dictionary definitions
below and then read our suggestions...
your comments and thoughts welcome! |
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Waterfalls:
Webster:
A perpendicular or very steep
descent of the water of a stream.
Dictionary.com: A steep fall or
flow of water in a watercourse from a
height. Cambridge:
Water
from a river or stream falling over an
edge of rock to a much lower level.
Wikipedia:
A waterfall is a place where water
flows over a vertical drop or a series
of steep drops in the course of a
stream or river. Oxford:
A cascade of water falling from a
height, formed when a river or stream
flows over a precipice or steep
incline. Collins English:
A waterfall is a place
where water flows over the edge of a
steep, high cliff in hills or
mountains, and falls into a pool
below. National Geographic:
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Rapids:
Webster:
A part of a river where the current
moves with great swiftness, the
surface being usually broken by
obstructions, but without actual
waterfall. Dictionary.com: A
part of a river where the current runs
very swiftly. Cambridge: A
dangerous part of a river that flows
very fast because it is steep and
sometimes narrow. Wikipedia:
A section of a river
where the river bed has a relatively
steep slope. Oxford: A
fast-flowing and turbulent part of the
course of a river. Collins English:
Part of a river where the current
is very fast and turbulent.
National Geographic:
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Spillways: Webster:
a passage for surplus water to run
over or around an obstruction (such as
a dam). Dictionary.com:
A passageway through which surplus
water escapes from a reservoir, lake,
or the like. Cambridge: a
passage for extra water from a lake
created by a dam. Wikipedia: A
structure used to provide the
controlled release of flows from a dam
or levee into a downstream area,
typically the riverbed of the dammed
river itself. Oxford: a passage
for surplus water from a dam.
Collins English: channel that
carries away surplus water, as from a
dam. National Geographic: A
channel or passageway through which
flood/surplus water escapes or release
safely from a reservoir or dam.
Theaurus: A channel for an
overflow of water, as from a
reservoir. |
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Our comments about waterfall definitions... we have problems with several
waterfall definitions, our comments
are in blue... Cambridge says “much
lower levels”
(how do you define much)!...
Wikipedia says “series of steep drops”
(a waterfall does not have to be a “series”,
it can and many times is a single
drop)!...
Collins says “high cliff” and “falls
into a pool” (does not have to be a
“high cliff” and does not have to “fall into a pool”)!...
National Geographic says “rocky ledge”
and “plunge pool”
(does not have to be
a “rocky ledge” or “plunge
pool”)!... Thesaurus says “river”
(does not have to be a “river”).
Note that only three of the
eight definitions preclude a spillway
from being a “waterfall”!
The definitions in rapids are mostly
good... Cambridge says “dangerous”,
“steep” and “narrow”
(a rapids does not have to be
“dangerous”, “steep”,
or “narrow”)!
The definitions in spillways are
mostly good... Cambridge says “lake”
and “dam”
(does not have to be a “lake”
or a “dam”)!...
Wikipedia says “controlled”
(does not have to be “controlled”)!...
Oxford says “dam”
(does not have to be a “dam”)!...
National Geographic says “reservoir or
dam”
(does not have to be a
“reservoir or dam”... some spillways are in streams)!
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Our suggestions for definitions (which
we intend to pursue with dictionary
people) is as follows:
Waterfall... “An unobstructed fall of water over a non manmade obstruction”. Rapids... “A part of a waterway where the current moves swiftly and the surface is interrupted by obstructions”. Spillway... “A passageway for water to run over a manmade obstruction”. |
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It is sometimes very
difficult to determine if the site is a "waterfall" or a "rapid"... here is
the procedure we use to determine whether the site is a rapid or a waterfall: Waterfall - When "whitewater" is created by rapids or falls it is created in two different ways... when water flows over an "edge", it creates "whitewater" BELOW the edge over which it dropped; that makes it a "waterfall"! Rapids - when water encounters an obstruction in the stream and the "whitewater" it creates is ABOVE the obstruction it is a "rapids"! |
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With all of the above being said there
is still a problem! Many entities have
had a certain name for years that are
incorrect... rapids that are called
waterfalls, spillways that are called
waterfalls, waterfalls that are called
rapids, etc.; and then we get into sites
that are called “dells”, “cascades”,
“punch bowls”, and various other
convoluted names! We attempt to use
the names that have been recognized
for years and will usually point out
what they should be called when the
recognized name used is inconsistent
with our definitions as stated above!
And the really tough call... how much
of a drop in water flow will make it a
waterfall? We normally (which is totally arbitrary) use 1 foot as a
minimum drop to call it a waterfall! |
| And, as you scan through out website you will see dozens of "rapids" that should probably be called "falls"... maybe in the years to come we will work on that and change some of our "rapids" to "falls"! (When we started this project our "specific" knowledge of the technical differences between "falls" and "rapids" was "weak"... now 8 years later, after recording over 1000 entities, the differences have become a bit more definitive). |
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