World of Waterfalls Blog

Waterfall of the Week

2010-09-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Click here to read more about this waterfall

Overhaul of Latin America Pages Complete

2010-08-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

Latin America was the latest region to undergo the overhaul of the individual waterfall pages. I noticed that much of the prose and visuals in this section were lacking. Fortunately, I had sufficient notes and library of photos to beef up the individual waterfall pages here.

That leaves just Asia as the last major region left to do.

Look for updates in the coming month where hopefully the scrub of this website will finally come to an end.

And as usual, if you catch typos, broken links, mistakes, or even if you like what we have, give us a holler and tell us what you think.

Waterfall of the Week

2010-08-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

Lower Oneonta Falls

Click here to read more about this waterfall

Hoofing It In The Eastern Sierra

2010-08-22T18:23:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was supposed to be a backpacking trip to the beautiful Minaret Lake deep in the Ansel Adams Wilderness near the Mammoth Lakes. But our trip leader had to back out due to health problems so the backcountry excursion turned into one where a high school buddy of mine and I chased waterfalls (plus a lake that yielded a waterfall I didn't expect to see).

Most of the waterfalls chased were oldies like Twin Falls, Rainbow Falls, Lower Falls, and Horsetail Falls. However, on our moderately strenuous hike to Shadow Lake, we saw a surprise waterfall I called "Shadow Falls" since I didn't know its name.

In addition to chasing waterfalls and a lake, we also spent a few hours amongst some of the oldest living organisms on earth in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. It was an intriguing excursion that yielded nice photographs as well as a chance to see the distinctive trees that neither of us had never seen before.

This trip was like John Muir once said.

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

No question that was the case once again...

Waterfall of the Week

2010-08-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Latourell Falls

Click here to read more about this waterfall

Overhaul of Africa Region Complete

2010-08-16T19:11:00.001-07:00

This is the latest of the regions to undergo the overhaul of its individual waterfall pages. Although there wasn't the quantity of waterfalls seen in other regions, the writeups of the falls in Africa definitely required more attention and time since there was lots to be said (given the adventure and uniqueness of our experiences there).

So that now leaves Latin America and Asia as the last two regions to undergo the overhaul, which I expect to get to some time in September or at the end of August. It really depends on how much free time I'll be having in the near term.

In any case, come have a second look (or first one if you haven't seen it yet) of what we have to say our experiences at the waterfalls of Africa.

Plans To Floodlight Chitrakote Falls

2010-08-14T16:47:00.001-07:00

I stumbled upon yet another article regarding India's version of Niagara Falls.

This was one of the major waterfalls we really wanted to see, but our tour operator refused to go out there due to the threat of Maoist insurgencies. So we'll have to hope we can return to India and focus on these areas assuming things get better over there.

In any case, it does seem like there's a concerted effort to lure tourists to that part of the country.

To read the article, click here.

Something Stirring In India's East

2010-08-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across an article talking about how Maoists are recruiting people.

I thought it was interesting because our trip to India was adversely affected due to some instability in India's East. And this kept us from seeing places like Hundru Falls, Barehipani Falls, Joranda Falls, and Chitrakote Falls (they're all within Maoist- and Naxalite-influenced areas).

After reading through this article, I couldn't help but see the implications this has on what's going on in Pakistan (with the flooding affecting some 20 million people and counting). I wonder if Al Qaeda and the Taliban see a major opportunity for recruitment by being the first (as well as the last) to offer aid and money before the Western World acts...

To read the article, click here.

Overhaul of Caribbean and South Pacific Pages Complete

2010-08-14T16:32:00.001-07:00

As promised earlier this week, the overhaul of the website continues with the next two regions being completed being the Caribbean and the South Pacific.

I have to admit there were lots of memories coming back when I was working these regions (especially for Tahiti and Fiji). Gee, I sure hope we can go back there without too many years passing by...

As usual, the individual waterfall pages have greatly expanded content as well as dedicated commenting, more photos, and even maps (apparently, some pages were missing them).

Next up on the overhaul priorities: Africa.

Then, we wrap up with Latin America and finally Asia (there's definitely a lot of pages to address in these two regions).

Overhaul of Iceland Pages Complete

2010-08-11T23:13:00.000-07:00

This took longer than I thought, but that was because I didn't realize how little quality content some of the pages had, nor did I realize that none of the individual waterfall pages in Iceland had maps!

Well after this round of auditing and making drastic improvements to each page, I'm proud to say that the Iceland pages are now in a shape that I'm pretty happy with (consistent with overhauled regions done already). That is, all pages now have maps, more up-to-date content (with better directions and more information), more photos, new videos, and dedicated commenting for each waterfall.

Next up in the overhaul will probably be either Africa, South Pacific, and/or the Caribbean.

After that, there will only be Latin America and Asia to do.

Waterfall of the Week

2010-08-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Salt Creek Falls

Click here to read more about this waterfall

Big Falls Done Right

2010-08-08T20:56:00.000-07:00

Five years ago, we went to Big Falls near the San Gregornio Wilderness area of the San Bernardino Mountains. Unfortunately, we showed up in May 2005 thinking we could take advantage of the peak snowmelt for maximum viewing effect. Little did we realize that that logic would cause us to show up when the trail was closed!

So this morning, we returned to Big Falls under conditions that I normally wouldn't consider for waterfalling. After all, it was August, and mid- to late Summer was traditionally a horrible time to go waterfalling in the Southland. But with June Gloom lasting even into this morning (something I don't think I had ever seen before in all the years I've lived here), it seemed like maybe the falls wouldn't be a disappointing trickle.

So to make a long story short, we were pleasantly surprised to see the falls flowing quite well. Moreover, we finally got to do the hike, and Mom and I even made a scramble to see a couple of hidden tiers.

Today's excursion was a welcome break from all the work being done to overhaul the website as well as to break the doldrums of Summer where we were itching to get out of the house without having to feel guilty taking more vacation days.

In fact, our impression of the falls changed so much that we even shook up the Top 10 Southern California Waterfalls List!

Check out what we had to say now about Big Falls as well as our travel story from this morning!

Overhaul of Norway Pages Complete

2010-08-04T22:26:00.000-07:00

I've just finished overhauling the waterfall pages for Norway. Previously, we had held back on the content thinking that we would put out a one-of-a-kind book about waterfalls in Norway. But it became clear that just revealing everything on our website what we knew and experienced about our time there was the way to go.

I had a lot of fun going back into memory lane digging up old photos while also reaching back into our notes and our memories to put together quality content.

Have a look!

Next up in the major overhaul is Iceland.

Waterfall of the Week

2010-08-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

Multnomah Falls

Click here to read more about this waterfall

New Zealand Pages Overhauled

2010-07-29T23:41:00.001-07:00

This region took longer than expected, but I finally finished revamping the waterfall pages for New Zealand. Some of the waterfalls have full-on descriptions, photos, videos, maps, and commenting. However, most of the pages still require you to buy the book for in-depth information as well as detailed maps.

Have a look and let us know what you think!

Waterfall of the Week

2010-07-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Tuolumne Falls

Click here to read more about this waterfall

Overhaul of Hawaii Waterfalls Region Complete

2010-07-22T22:55:00.000-07:00

As I'm sleepy composing this blog post, I just wanted to announce that the Hawaii pages have been overhauled. The content on these pages have been significantly augmented as we decided not to publish a book about Hawaii Waterfalls, and instead post just about all we know (and researched) about these waterfalls onto the website.

Now given the mountain of work and content that went into this major update, I'm sure there are bound to be some mistakes or broken links. Please feel free to let us know if you happen to catch one of these during your visit.

Next, the overhaul with continue with New Zealand after I take a few days break from all this work. Stay tuned...

Waterfall of the Week

2010-07-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

White Cascade (Glen Aulin Falls)

Click here to read more about this waterfall

Australia Region Overhaul Completed

2010-07-15T22:37:00.001-07:00

It took about 2 weeks to get through the overhaul of the hundreds of pages pertaining to the many waterfalls in Australia, but I'm proud to say it's finally complete.

Now, the waterfall pages have more easily-accessible comments, suggested readings, more photos, videos, better blurbs, related trip reports, and even nearby waterfalls - all for each waterfall page!

Next up, I plan to be busy overhauling the Hawaii pages. We were planning on doing a book, but we decided it just made much more sense to provide what we know and our media content via this website. Stay tuned...

Yosemite Waterfalls Making A Comeback This Year

2010-07-15T07:47:00.000-07:00

I'm ashamed to say that Julie and I haven't been back to Yosemite since February of 2006. We used to go there every year (sometimes 5 or 6 times in a year even).

Sure our international travels (and consequent updates to this website) have kind of taken the lion's share of our free time.

But it seems that the park has been abuzz this year. Even coworkers whom I don't normally think would be going to such places have been singing its praises about the Yosemite Valley Waterfalls.

It's too bad we haven't been able to see the spectacle this far into the Summer. And according to this CBS news piece, it still looks like Spring over there!

Waterfall of the Week

2010-07-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

LeConte Falls

Click here to read more about this waterfall

Waterfall of the Week

2010-07-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Waterwheel Falls

Click here to read more about this waterfall

4th of July Update

2010-07-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

It sounds like a war zone outside.

Well, it's actually a bunch of fireworks (both sanctioned and illegal) going off. But I believe the war zone mimicry (in an audio and visual sense) was by design to commemorate the struggle for Independence on this day.

With regards to this website, there's still work to do to get the international pages up to the same standard as the domestic waterfall pages. Australia is the current region being worked on. It's probably going to take a few months to complete, but once I'm there, I can finally feel like I'm free (from this particular overhaul).

Revamped Top 10 Waterfalls Lists

2010-07-01T20:20:00.001-07:00

We've updated our Top 10 Best Waterfalls of the World List incorporating new impressions and experiences attained from our latest trip to the Greece, Croatia, and Switzerland.

Regarding the new entry on this list, I'm sure for some people, they'll probably be saying, "It's about time!" But again, we have to remind you that we're restricting all of our lists to only waterfalls that we've personally seen. We still believe that you have to experience the waterfalls in person and then measure them against your own library of impressions and experiences from other waterfalls you've been to in order to come up with a truly original and honest list of favorite waterfalls.

Speaking of honest, I couldn't help but notice that there are a bunch of copy cats that like to take this list and claim it as their own. I guess they'll have to update their list given the little shake-up we've done...

By the way, this isn't the only Top 10 List we've updated.

We've also updated our Top 10 Tallest Waterfalls List for Cumulative Height and for Tallest Vertical Leap. Once again, we're uncomfortable with these types of lists claiming to have the "tallest" waterfalls (including our own). And as you'll see on these pages, we have even more cases and evidence to further support this disposition...

European Waterfalls Updates Complete

2010-06-30T22:17:00.001-07:00

It took a while to get to this point, but I think I've finished posting all the waterfall and related page updates for the Europe region. These are all updated from our latest trip to Greece, Croatia, and Switzerland.

This latest update includes all Swiss waterfalls as well as the Other Attractions page.

Check it out!

More updates to come regarding shake-ups to our Top 10 List.