Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/06/05/visitor-discovers-that-chinas-highest-waterfall-comes-from-a-pipe.html
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Perhaps other national parks will take inspiration from this idea. Imagine if the geysers at Yellowstone put on a nightly choreographed show like the fountains at the Bellagio hotel.
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My hometown, Wichita Falls, Texas, decided to build a waterfall in the 1980s because, despite its name, there were no waterfalls anywhere in the area. So they built some. They pump water from the Wichita River to the top of a bluff, and let it cascade down a man made scenic waterfall. Shortly before its official opening, for which Willard Scott of the Today Show and the mayor of Niagara Falls were on hand for, there was a flood on the river and the pump was temporarily unusable. So for the official turning on of the waterfall, they hooked up a bunch of firehoses from pumper trucks to every nearby fire hydrant, and used city tap water to “turn on” the waterfall. The waterfall is still there, though. It’s a nice tourist attraction, I guess.
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I’m reminded of another “small enhancement”:
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Hey, at least be fair and point out there was a waterfall there when they named the town.
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I remember driving past this on a family vacation as a teenager, and laughing my ass off at it.
ETA:
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"…don’t believe the hype
Yo Chuck, they must be on a pipe, right? "
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Would be a real value-add at China’s low-rent knockoff copy of Austria’s Hallstatt.
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Hey man Ruby Falls is a real underground waterfall!
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It isnt ruby though (yes, I know, its named for a person).
I have a strong memory of my first time driving from Chicago to Atlanta and it seemed like every five miles there was a sign ruining the scenery saying “SEE RUBY FALLS!”
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If it’s a natural waterfall that runs dry at certain times of year, is it really so terrible to augment the flow during the dry times so it looks cool all year?
I’m really torn about this. I mean, the inauthenticity definitely rubs the wrong way. But if I visited during dry season, I’m not sure I’d be more upset about seeing a pretty waterfall fed with piped water vs. a dry cliff.
I will say this: you probably saw billboards for The Lost Sea also. Also not a tourist trap. A respectable big cave with an 11-acre lake at the bottom that you go out on in boats.
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There was. Sort of. It was around a 6 foot waterfall. And a flood slightly rerouted the river, eliminating the waterfall, before the town was even officially incorporated.
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That looks like what we call a weir, in UK. Definitely not a waterfall.
Not sure why anyone is complaining about the Chinese one. Water is falling - naturally, i.e. under the force of gravity. So it’s still a waterfall. (Not sure if I’m being sarcastic there, or not.)
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I was doing a road trip around the east coast of Canada and I stopped in at a place called Grand Falls. It turns out they have a dam and only let the falls flow at certain times of year when they want to produce hydro electricity. I went when it was closed.
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We probably shouldn’t be too judgmental about them messing with nature. Here in the US/Canada we sometimes use pipes and such to turn waterfalls off.
Even on a normal day something like 75% of the water that would otherwise flow over Niagara Falls is diverted to hydroelectric power generation instead.
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More of a fountain?
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OH! I’ve been there! It’s in a cave, just south of Rock City!
I haven’t been to Ruby Falls in years, but rather recently went to Rock City! There is a falls there, too…
Also, despite being right outside of Chattanooga, Rock City and Ruby Falls are in GA… Oh! And both are pretty close to Paradise Garden!
RIP, Rev. Finster!!!
I used to know his grandson!
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