Visual essay · eight chapters · Britannica figures
275 throats along 2.7 km of lip, one Throat drinking half the river, five dams upstream and a visa-free day — eight chapters on Britannica figures, datum footnote in full view. M01
In October 2023 the river passed at 24.2 million litres per second — 16 times normal, the second-highest flow ever recorded. M05
Chapter 1 · A system, not a waterfall
Between Argentina and Brazil, the Iguaçu River breaks along 2.7 km of lip into hundreds of 60–82 m falls, the longest 82 m. The name comes from Guaraní/Tupi: y (“water”) + ûasú (“big”) — the big water — and the carrier calls the whole “the largest waterfall system in the world.” M01
The system sits at 25°41′12″S 54°26′41″W, and its lip retreats 1.4–2.1 cm a year through headwater erosion. Every figure in this essay comes from Britannica via M01; where carriers differ, the datum footnote keeps them all in view. M01
275 throats counted, 150 to 300 with the water — and a datum footnote hiding nothing. M01
THE EDGE
The Britannica figure, with its 60–82 m falls. M01
2.7 km of edge, with individual falls of 60–82 m and a longest drop of 82 m — the anchor of this essay. The rest is datum and level variation, kept in view at the last mark. M01
THE COUNT
The count depends on the water: 150–300 by level. M01
275 falls is the nominal figure; by water level, the same lip counts between 150 and 300 throats. Here 275 stays the label, and the 150–300 range always stands beside it. M01
THE SPLIT
Argentina takes ~80% of the jumps; Brazil ~20%. M01
Argentina holds about 80% of the jumps, Brazil about 20% — though over 95% of the basin is Brazilian. The border between them runs straight through the Devil's Throat. M01
DATUM FOOTNOTE
The essay standardizes on Britannica and notes every variant. M01 M05
Mean flow is 1,756 m³/s on Britannica; the park spokesman speaks, via AFP, of a “normal” of 1.5M L/s. Different conventions — here the figure is always the Britannica one, with the variant beside it. M01 M05
Image gallery
Chapter 2 · The Devil's Throat
Garganta del Diablo, the Devil's Throat, takes about half the river's flow and throws it into an 80–90 m wide, 70–80 m deep canyon. It is the piece that makes Iguazu a system: the other 2.7 km are the curtain, the Throat is the voice. M01
The Argentina–Brazil border runs through the Throat, and cliff way 551980154 pins it to the map. Its name changes by bank — but all three live in the OSM tags. M01 M11
80–90 m wide, 70–80 m deep — and a border running through the middle of the water. M01
THE HALF
One throat drinks half the Iguaçu. M01
The Devil's Throat takes about half the river's flow; the rest divides across the curtain's hundreds of throats. That is why every system figure reads with the Throat in mind. M01
THE CANYON
The Throat canyon's width and depth. M01
The Throat canyon measures 80–90 m wide and 70–80 m deep. It is the only system piece with both dimensions cited — the rest of the curtain measures in length and count. M01
THE BORDER
Argentina–Brazil runs through the Throat. M01
The Argentina–Brazil border runs straight through the Devil's Throat: the same water, two countries, one roar. The 80/20 curtain split is negotiated around this line. M01
THE NAMES
Spanish, Portuguese, English — from OSM tags. M11
Garganta del Diablo in Spanish, Garganta do Diabo in Portuguese, Devil's Throat in English: all three live in the tags of node 446408446. The Spanish names resolve on the map; the English “Devils Throat” does not — the essay carries it in prose. M11
Image gallery
Chapter 3 · 300 ↔ 46,300
In the summer of 2006, drought drew the river down to 300 m³/s into early December. The park spokesman's invoked “normal” is 1.5M L/s — 1,500 m³/s, below the Britannica mean of 1,756. M01 M05
In October 2023, storms pushed the flow to 24.2M L/s — 24,200 m³/s, 16 times normal, the second-highest flow on record, behind the 46.3M L/s record of June 2014. The figures come from the park operator, Urbia, via AFP. M05
The 2006 drought and the June 2014 record — the same river, two worlds. M01 M05
DROUGHT
The summer drought, into early December. M01
300 m³/s — that was all the Iguaçu had left in the summer 2006 drought, into early December. It is the system's cited floor, the gauge's bottom mark. M01
NORMAL
The spokesman's convention, via AFP. M05
The “normal” of 1.5M L/s is the park spokesman's convention, quoted by AFP — not the Britannica mean of 1,756 m³/s. Against it, the October 2023 flood measured 16 times. M05
OCTOBER 2023
The second-highest flow, apud Urbia via AFP. M05
24.2M L/s — 24,200 m³/s — in October 2023: 16 times normal and the second-highest flow ever recorded. The figures come from the park operator, Urbia, via AFP. M05
RECORD
The absolute record: 46,300 m³/s. M05
46.3M L/s — 46,300 m³/s — in June 2014: the highest flow ever recorded at Iguazu. Between the 300 floor and this ceiling fits the whole story of the moods. M05
Chapter 4 · Five dams upstream
Five dams work upstream of the falls: Foz do Areia, Salto Segredo, Salto Santiago, Salto Osorio and Salto Caxias. Their rhythm is no longer the seasons' but the sluices'. M06
The first dam from the falls is José Richa (Salto Caxias): 1,240 MW poured between 1995 and 1999 by Copel, in a 67 m high, 1,100 m long gravity dam. M04
Every time the gates open in Brazil, the level at the falls moves — in the park chief's words. M06
THE FIVE
Foz do Areia → Salto Caxias. M06
Foz do Areia, Salto Segredo, Salto Santiago, Salto Osorio, Salto Caxias: five dams operating upstream of the falls, on the March 2009 IPS wire. Every sluice move of theirs reads at the Throat. M06
THE SLUICE
The park chief, Daniel Costras, via IPS. M06
“Every time they open or close the sluice gates in Brazil, the level of the water in the falls drops or rises…” — Daniel Costras, the park chief. The sentence's tail, with the seasons' old rhythm, was not re-read at build and stays out. M06
THE FIRST
The first dam upstream, 1995–99. M04
José Richa (Salto Caxias) is the first dam upstream of the falls: 1,240 MW built between 1995 and 1999. The other four sit higher, on the same wire. M04
THE DAM
Roller-compacted gravity, Copel. M04
The José Richa dam: 67 m high, 1,100 m long, roller-compacted-concrete (RCC) gravity, operated by Copel. Its dimensions are the only dam dimensions cited in this essay. M04
Image gallery
Chapter 5 · Deities, conquistadors, one sigh
The Guaraní legend says a deity split the river in anger: the beautiful Naipí and her mortal lover, Tarobá, met their end in the falls. The first European to see them was Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, in 1541. M01
The protection campaign began with Rebouças in 1876, four years after Yellowstone; the Argentine park was born in 1934, on 677 km², and the Brazilian one on 10 January 1939, by Vargas's Decreto-Lei 1.035. World Heritage followed: 1984 for Argentina (WHS 303), 1986 for Brazil. M01 M02 M03
From Guaraní legend to two national parks and one famous sigh — with its “reportedly” attached. M01
LEGEND
The deity, the beauty, the mortal lover. M01
A deity, the beautiful Naipí and her mortal lover, Tarobá: the Guaraní legend makes the falls a punishment of love. It is the essay's only figureless story. M01
1541 · 1876
Cabeza de Vaca, then Rebouças. M01
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, the first European at the falls, in 1541. Rebouças and the protection campaign, in 1876 — four years after Yellowstone. M01
THE PARKS
677 Argentine km²; Decreto-Lei 1.035. M01 M02 M03
Iguazú National Park (Argentina): 1934, 677 km², World Heritage 303 since 1984. Iguaçu National Park (Brazil): 10 January 1939, Decreto-Lei 1.035 signed by Vargas, World Heritage since 1986. M01 M02 M03
THE SIGH
Eleanor Roosevelt — reportedly. M01
“Poor Niagara!” Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly exclaimed before the falls. “Reportedly”: the qualifier is part of the quote, not a footnote. M01
Image gallery
Chapter 6 · What lives in the spray
Great dusky swifts nest on cliff faces directly behind the curtains of falling water and fly in large groups through the mist. The Macaulay page is bot-walled and never cited. M07
Coatis — white-nosed — are the park's most conspicuous mammals, habituated to people. Around the park, the carrier also documents the jaguar Green Corridor — named here without figures, because the figure is fragile. M07
Nests on rock, behind the curtain — and the most conspicuous mammals, habituated to people. M07
THE SWIFTS
Great dusky swifts, via internationalparks. M07
“Nesting on cliff faces directly behind the curtains of cascading water… flying in large groups through the mist” — nests on rock behind the water, flight in great flocks through the mist. M07
COATIS
Habituated to people. M07
“Most conspicuous mammals… habituated” — coatis are the park's most conspicuous mammals and have grown used to people. Two frames show them up close: dany13 (2013) and Falk2 (2020). M07
THE CORRIDOR
The jaguar is named, not counted. M07
The jaguar Green Corridor around the park is documented by the carrier — but the crash figure is fragile and stays out of this essay. Here the corridor is named, not counted. M07
Chapter 7 · One confluence, three countries
Below the falls, the lower Iguazu runs to the Paraná canyon, a short distance downstream of Itaipú — which appears here only as a landmark, without figures. At the Paraná confluence meet three borders: Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. M01
Three towns guard the waters: Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil), Puerto Iguazú (Argentina) and Ciudad del Este (Paraguay) — all with airports. Two of them are pinned on the essay map by OSM id. M01
Below the falls, the Iguazu joins the Paraná — and at the confluence stand Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. M01
CONFLUENCE
The Paraná canyon, below Itaipú. M01
The lower Iguazu joins the Paraná canyon a short distance downstream of Itaipú. The Argentina–Brazil–Paraguay triple border sits right at the confluence. M01
THE TOWNS
Foz, Puerto Iguazú, Ciudad del Este. M01
Foz do Iguaçu, Puerto Iguazú and Ciudad del Este — the Brazilian, Argentine and Paraguayan banks — each with its airport. The Paraguayan town lives only in prose: the essay map pins two banks. M01
THE BANKS
Relations 297473 and 3201757. M11
Foz do Iguaçu is relation 297473, Puerto Iguazú is relation 3201757: two verified administrative boundaries, their centres on the essay map. Locator geometry — never figures. M11
Chapter 8 · The Chinese thread
From 11 May 2026, Brazil admits ordinary Chinese passports visa-free — for tourism, business, transit, art and sport — on the Xinhua announcement of 8 May 2026, via People's Daily. The second half of the details is snippet-only and stays out. M08
Brazil and Argentina team up to attract Chinese tourists: “we have the Iguazu Waterfalls, another marvel.” As early as 2021, a People's Daily interview showed Argentina wooing the “strategic” Chinese market — with Iguazu among the wonders. M09 M10
Brazil waives visas for ordinary Chinese passports — and Iguazu is the “another marvel” in the offer. M08 M09
11 MAY 2026
Ordinary Chinese passports, via Xinhua. M08
From 11 May 2026: visa-free for ordinary Chinese passports — tourism, business, transit, art, sport. The Xinhua announcement of 8 May 2026, via People's Daily. M08
THE TEAM
Brazil + Argentina for Chinese tourists. M09
“Brazil and Argentina team up to attract Chinese tourists” — and the offer sounds like this: “we have the Iguazu Waterfalls, another marvel.” The Great Wall on one side, Iguazu on the other. M09
STRATEGIC MARKET
The People's Daily interview. M10
As early as 2021, Argentina was wooing the “strategic” Chinese market, with Iguazu among the wonders invoked in the People's Daily interview. The 2026 thread has roots. M10
Sources and limits
Annotations retain the status in the source ledger.
tertiary encyclopedia · official-link-unverified
official park site · official-link-unverified
tertiary summary with cited provenance · official-link-unverified
tertiary summary with cited provenance · official-link-unverified
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Richa_Hydroelectric_Plant
news wire apud park operator · official-link-unverified
https://phys.org/news/2023-11-storms-iguazu-falls-decade-high.html
news wire · official-link-unverified
conservation parks guide · official-link-unverified
state wire via People's Daily · official-link-unverified
official mirror of state wire · official-link-unverified
state press interview · official-link-unverified
OpenStreetMap records · official-link-unverified
https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/551980154 · https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/446408446 · https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/361426109 · https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/2394867 · https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/297473 · https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/3201757
Commons original · official-link-unverified
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iguaz%C3%BA_Falls_01.jpg
Commons original · official-link-unverified
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:J37_873_Garganta_del_Diablo.jpg
Commons original · official-link-unverified
Commons original · official-link-unverified
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iguazu_Falls_Panorama_2009.jpg
Commons original · official-link-unverified
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iguazu_D%C3%A9cembre_2007_-_Panorama_8.jpg
Commons original · official-link-unverified
Commons original · official-link-unverified
Commons original · official-link-unverified
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:J37_899_S%C3%BCdamerikanische_Nasenb%C3%A4ren.jpg
Commons original · official-link-unverified
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iguazu_Falls(js)04.jpg
Commons original · official-link-unverified
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1_iguazu_falls_aerial_2010.jpg
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