Drought Shrinks Brazil's Famous Iguacu Falls

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An unusual dry spell has shrunk Brazil's postcard-famous Iguacu Falls to less than one-fifth its normal size, a near-record low, local media said Tuesday.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — An unusual dry spell has shrunk Brazil's postcard-famous Iguacu Falls to less than one-fifth its normal size, a near-record low, local media said Tuesday.


TV footage showed the massive falls shrunken to a series of streams over a wall of bare rock in Foz do Iguacu, 750 miles (1,200 kms) southwest of Rio de Janeiro.


The array of 275 falls, on Brazil's southwestern border with Paraguay, have declined to a volume of just 298 cubic meters a second, compared to 1,500 meters per second normally, the agency said, citing a study by the Parana state Energy Company.


Some falls have completely dried up, ABN news agency reported.


The name of the falls comes from the Guarani Indian word meaning "great water." In 1986 Iguacu Falls were declared a Natural Heritage of Mankind by UNESCO.


Although the dry spell in southern Brazil's winter has reduced the volume of the Iguacu River, it has not endangered energy production at the nearby Itaipu hydroelectric dam, Brazil's largest.


Source: Associated Press


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