Waterfalls are one of the most majestic things on the planet: a beautiful, thunderous display of water and physics. But where do these waterfall creations come from?
Waterfalls are formed by external forces, such as earthquakes, landslides or sea level changes that greatly alter and interrupt landscapes and river beds. But it turns out that another force led by the interior could also be responsible.
A new study by Caltech researchers proposes a radical hypothesis on how these captivating phenomena are formed: the waterfalls are self-made. One of the reasons why the formation of waterfalls has been a long-standing mystery, the researchers say, is because these streams evolve beyond geological times.
To test their idea, the researchers built a mini-river inside their laboratory: a 7.3 meter (almost 24-foot) canal made from a ‘foam synthetic rock’ polyurethane.
They placed small gravel pebbles in the canal to replace natural rock sediments, and then they ran a steady stream of water through their virtual waterfall, essentially letting nature take its course.
Of course, a 7-meter simulation in a lab isn’t necessarily proof that the real-life waterfalls of the world have forged their way the same way – but it’s enough to suggest it’s possible.
For this reason, the team says that further research on this “intrinsic formation process” could help us “distinguish externally constructed waterfalls to improve the reconstruction of Earth’s history from landscapes”.
Taken to the maximum extent, the results indicate that it may be necessary to re-examine a whole series of scientific hypotheses on how and why waterfalls, rivers, lakes and all other types of landscapes affected by water appear as they do. Essentially, the falls have become even more majestic.
“This study makes us reflect because it says that some of these could form themselves and have nothing to do with the events of the past.”