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The largest waterfall in ECUADOR, known as the SAN RAFAEL Waterfall, has vanished after a sinkhole swallowed part of its water source. Surrounded by VEGETATION and rare butterflies, this was one of the most beautiful landscapes in ECUADOR.
Spell WATER Spell FALL
What vanished off the face of the earth in this lesson? WATERFALL
What is the name of the waterfall we are talking about today? SAN RAFAEL
What country is the waterfall in? ECUADOR
What swallowed this water source? SINKHOLE
Name one thing that surrounded this waterfall. VEGETATION BUTTERFLY
In what country did this waterfall exist? ECUADOR
What is a WATERFALL? Waterfalls form when a river or stream drops off of a cliff. There is usually a pond or lake at the bottom that the water falls into. Waterfalls can be formed in many different ways. Land FORMATION can cause a waterfall, especially when there is a CLIFF or ledge naturally, in which rushing waters will simply fall over the edge. Waterfalls can also be caused by melted ice from ICEBERG.
Spell RUSHING Spell ICEBERG Spell LEDGE
Waterfalls form where a river or stream drops off of what? CLIFF
Linguistically, what kind of word is waterfall? COMPOUND
Name one thing usually at the bottom of a waterfall. POND, LAKE
Name one way a waterfall is formed. LAND FORMATION, MELTED ICE
The San Rafael Waterfall dropped 490 feet into a crater-like basin after traveling the COCA RIVER through a thick cloud forest at the intersection of the ANDES Mountains and the AMAZON Basin. As the country’s tallest waterfall, the San Rafael Waterfall attracts tens of thousands of visitors per year.
Spell DROP, Spell CRATER, Spell AMAZON
Which river did this waterfall travel to? COCA RIVER
Which mountains did this waterfall exist in? ANDES MOUNTAINS
How many feet tall was the San Rafael Waterfall drop? 490
If one yard = three feet, how many yards long was the drop? 3/490= 163.3 yards.
For fun, do you know how long a football field is in yards? 100 YARDS
The National AERONAUTICS and Space Administration (NASA) says the iconic waterfall is now gone, replaced by three streams. All TOURISM to the San Rafael Waterfall has been closed, and the attraction no longer appears on www.ecuador.travel, the country’s official travel website. At this time, the Ministry of Tourism does not plan to RECONSTRUCT the waterfall.
Spell NASA, Spell CLOSED, Spell ICONIC
What has been closed at San Rafael? TOURISM
What has the waterfall been replaced by? 3 STREAMS
On what website is this no longer found? WWW.ECUADOR.TRAVEL Point to the waterfall on the map.
What is the difference, in years, between these 2 NASA maps? 2020-2014= six years
Why do you think NASA is reporting on the disappearance of the waterfall?
So what happened to the waterfall? The MINISTRY of the ENVIRONMENT cannot determine an exact cause. There are conflicting theories as to what happened. One group says this is a natural PHENOMENON. Another attribute is the disappearance of the falls to the construction of the country’s largest HYDROELECTRIC plant (electricity powered by water) on the river. Technicians EVALUATED the waterfall and reported “possible undermining of the river’s path prior to the fall of the waterfall.”
Spell CAUSE, Spell THEORY, Spell TECHNICIAN
Who cannot determine the cause of the disappearing waterfall? MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT
What is hydroelectricity powered by? WATER
Name one theory of why the waterfall disappeared. HYDROELECTRIC
PLANT NATURAL PHENOMENON
Not to fear – many famous waterfalls are still alive and kicking to visit! The most famous waterfall in North America is NIAGARA Falls. Niagara is a collection of three different waterfalls found in two countries. One side is found in New York State in the United States, and the other is found in ONTARIO, Canada. The tallest uninterrupted waterfall in the world is Angel Falls in VENEZUELA, at a height of 979 meters.
Spell NORTH AMERICA, Spell CANADA, Spell FOUND
What is the most famous North American waterfall? NIAGARA FALLS
How many waterfalls are contained in Niagara? THREE
How many countries is Niagara located in? 2
In what US state is Niagara located? NEW YORK
What is the tallest waterfall? ANGEL FALLS
What country is this located in? VENEZUELA
Do a Google search for images of Niagara Falls.
Locate the US and Canadian sides of Niagara Falls on a map.
Creative writing:
Imagine you are visiting a waterfall. What kind of experience do you anticipate?
Write a mythological story explaining the disappearance of the San Rafael waterfall.
Source:
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/146502/the-disappearance-of-ecuadors-tallest-waterfall
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/01/world/san-rafael-waterfall-gone-trnd/index.html
