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Here, the Rhine plunges 23 metres down
Image: Hamsterkiste
The Rhine Falls of Schaffhausen
- Exploration activities
- Hamsterkiste test
1 - Even from a distance, you can hear a thunderous roar unlike anything but the incredible power of water. As you get closer, you see enormous amounts of water plunging endlessly over hard rock ledges. This is the water of the Rhine, which has formed Europe’s largest waterfall here. It is called the Rhine Falls. 2 - The Rhine is about 1,233 km long, making it one of Europe’s longest rivers. The Rhine Falls account for only a short stretch of its long course. They are near the city of Schaffhausen in Switzerland, which is why many people know them as the Rhine Falls of Schaffhausen. 3 - At this point, the river is about 150 metres wide. Just before the Rhine Falls, a bridge crosses the river, which is already flowing very fast here. Then the water plunges 23 metres, day after day, year after year, century after century. In summer, about 600,000 litres of water pour over the falls every second. That weighs 600 tonnes, or as much as 150 elephants. In winter, the average is 250,000 litres per second. Over thousands of years, the water has carved out a 13-metre-deep basin below the falls. 4 - In the past, the river followed a different course. But at the end of the last Ice Age, about 15,000 years ago, it was pushed south. At first, the riverbed ran over hard limestone. Further downstream, the water encountered softer rock. Over the millennia since then, the river has carved deeper and deeper into this soft rock. A waterfall formed at the boundary between the hard and soft rock. 5 - Today, many tourists visit the Rhine Falls. They marvel at the wild beauty of nature. Excursion boats can take you close to the ledge where the water sprays and thunders. You can even be dropped off on a rock and climb up through the roar. 6 - The falls also generate electricity. The Neuhausen Rhine Power Plant diverts some of the cascading water to turbines that generate electricity. The Schaffhausen Power Plant, which also produces electricity, is located upstream of the Rhine Falls.
