Surrounded by lush vegetation and rare butterflies, the San Rafael Waterfall was one of the most captivating landscapes in Ecuador. With water dropping 150 meters (490 feet), the river and falls cut through a thick patch of cloud forest at the intersection of the Andes Mountains and the Amazon Basin. As the country’s tallest waterfall, it attracted tens of thousands of visitors per year.
But now, the cascade has disappeared. It stopped flowing on February 2, 2020. ... According to media reports, a huge sinkhole appeared in the Coca River a few meters before the falls and diverted the watercourse. Now, the water falls in three separate sections and at a less steep slope, which cannot be seen from viewing stations located around the original waterfall. Researchers believe the three streams could cause erosion at the channel’s origin and create a river upstream, which might change the topography of the valley.
The cause of the sinkhole is under investigation. Some geologists think the deformation occurred naturally, while other researchers suspect it may be tied to the new construction of the country’s largest hydroelectric plant. No matter the cause, Ecuador’s tourism ministry does not plan to reconstruct the riverbed or restore San Rafael. The waterfall is now part of history.
krenek: pleasse install it back to the bottom the page, thanks!
Aug 22, 2022 17:04:07 GMT
tek: I am to completely disable it
Aug 22, 2022 16:54:37 GMT
tek: But when one scrolls down to the bottom of the page, what they see must be the true bottom of the forum page, not a chatbox.
Aug 22, 2022 16:53:39 GMT
tek: Does it not collapse when you want it to collapse?
Aug 22, 2022 16:51:34 GMT
Walter_V_R: I second that. It is annoying to have this Shoutbox floating around in the middle of the text you want to read.
Aug 22, 2022 10:28:13 GMT
krenek: can you please put it back where it was, at the bottom of the screen ...much better imho
Aug 22, 2022 7:58:08 GMT
krenek: few people use it
Aug 22, 2022 7:57:03 GMT
krenek: 1) this shoutbox is much too much intrusive
Aug 22, 2022 7:56:52 GMT
tek: This one is sizable, too. Move mouse to the left of the blue title bar, and so on...
Aug 18, 2022 17:11:28 GMT