!!!Iguazu Falls, Argentina-Brazil

by members of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

19 January 2013

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

In January 2008 we photographed Iguazu Falls (also known as Iguassu and
Iguaçu) located on the border of Argentina and Brazil. This was one of
the first AirPano virtual tours. We got only two aerial panoramas in the
tour, because of local restrictions for shooting from a helicopter. At
that time there was the only helicopter company Helisul, located at the
Brazilian side. Unfortunately administration of Brazilian Iguazu Falls
Park requested 20 thousand US dollars for a permit to open helicopter
doors. Obviously, we didn't have such money, and so I had to struggle
shooting spherical panoramas through a small passenger window. Besides,
it was prohibited to fly under 500 meters above the waterfalls (which
would disturb the nature), as well as crossing the Argentinean border
that runs through the middle of the Iguazu River. These restrictions
kept our pilot away from most interesting spots of the waterfall.

[{Image src='01_Iguasu falls, Argentina-Brazil.jpg' caption='Iguasu falls, Argentina-Brazil' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='491'}]

I took another attempt in a few days. Available helicopter, however,
didn't have passenger headphones. I had to cancel the flight, because it
was critical to communicate with a pilot during our trip. As I was
scheduled to leave Brazil on the following day, the director (an old
lady) promised me to refund 500 dollars deposit for the cancelled
flight. When I returned to Iguazu Falls a year later, the lady
conveniently forgot about her promise and I never got my money back.

[{Image src='02_Iguasu falls, Argentina-Brazil.jpg' caption='Iguasu falls, Argentina-Brazil' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='521'}]

It was obvious that a large helicopter was not enough to shoot Iguazu
Falls properly (especially from the Argentinean side). We decided to
take a second chance and sent our RC helicopter team to Iguazu.

Today we present a large virtual tour that includes aerial and ground
photographs taken in 2008 and 2012. Visitors can see details of Iuazu
Falls that were not available for public before from the bird's eye
view.

And now I give you Stas Sedov, who personally took part in this photo
expedition.

Oleg Gaponyuk

Leaving for Iguazu Falls, Dima and I were worried that it would be a dry
season.

Dry season, 2006 year

[{Image src='03_Dry season in 2006.jpg' caption='Dry season in 2006' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='584'}]

Big water, 2005 year

[{Image src='04_Big water in 2005.jpg' caption='Big water in 2005' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='599'}]

Our mission was to photograph one of the largest waterfalls in the
world, and not a little drip of water. Dima planned our trip very well,
carefully selecting travel dates. However, no one could imagine that
this would be one of the most stressful and exhausting photo shoots in
AirPano history...

Here are selected parts of our email communication with colleagues
during the trip:

18 June 2012

I arrived to Iguazu Falls. It rains practically non-stop. There were few
gaps in the clouds today, but no sun.

I have never seen so much water in the waterfall basin, even though I
have been traveling for 10 years. It pours at 3 million liters per
second, and the norm is 1,5 million liters per second...

The waterfall is unbelievably cool! A true endless flow of water!

[{Image src='05_Iguasu falls, Devils throat.jpg' caption='Iguasu falls, Devils throat' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='726'}]

We will figure out how to shoot the waterfall. We have few ideas, but we
worry about our equipment very much. Guys, send us some good weather
ASAP! We miss the sun a lot!

19 June 2012

It has been raining non-stop since last night. We went to the
observation deck under the waterfall. It was impossible to shoot there!
I was soaking wet after running there and back! The viewpoint is
practically enveloped in a cloud of mist. We have to take this spot off
our location list, unfortunately.

Almost entire canyon is covered with think mist created by falling
water. In Moscow, you cannot even imagine the way it looks — it is
completely different from older Iguazu spherical panoramas.

Here is a video I took with my phone, but it hardly gives justice to
what is really happening here:

20 June 2012

Morning. It's raining again. But we have finally caught our "three rays
of sun!"

We have waited for quite awhile on the observation deck; lots of
tension, everybody's stressed. There was even more water comparing to
the day before. It was risky. At times we flew the helicopter in a thick
water mist, maneuvering between heavy clouds. The equipment is still
functional. In 15 minutes after our lucky moment it started to rain
again, so we wrapped it up.

[{Image src='06_Iguasu falls, Argentina-Brazil.jpg' caption='Iguasu falls, Argentina-Brazil' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='584'}]

There was a funny incident later at night. We decided to get a snack
while waiting for the sun. Dima bought few packs of cookies and a can of
soda in a café near the viewpoint, and left it all on a table. We looked
away for a moment and immediately heard a light crunch. We didn't
understand what it was at first. Quick look at the table — the cookies
are gone! Everything disappeared, but the tail of a little thief running
for cover in a nearest shrub. What a vermin! And usually these nosy
creatures look so chubby and slow, especially when posing for a camera.

Going to study Iguazu Falls from Argentinean side tomorrow. I checked
the footage — there is a chance to get close to the Devil's Throat.

22 June 2012

We have finally shot Iguazu Falls!

It was the most challenging photo shoot — physically and emotionally —
of my entire career. Out of five days of our trip the weather favored us
only once, today. We have been ~[censored] exhausted while waiting for
the sun to come out!

We have tried practically all weather improving tricks known to men:
throwing coins into the water; sacrificing an old flash card to the
waterfalls; Dima even made a personal (much more powerful) sacrifice —
he quit smoking! (Ok, it was only for the duration of our trip).

I don't know which of the tricks finally worked, and who heard our
prayers, but today the sun showed up by the end of the day, even if only
for a couple of hours. We did our best to make use of this time and to
shoot as many locations as possible from the Argentinean side of the
waterfalls. Too bad, we didn't have enough time to photograph everything
we wanted.

[{Image src='07_Iguasu falls, Argentina-Brazil.jpg' caption='Iguasu falls, Argentina-Brazil' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='902'}]

At night, while processing images, I noticed a peculiar effect —
upside-down rainbows! They looked normal from the ground level, but from
a higher angle (from a helicopter) a rainbow arches not up, but down.
Amazing!

It is raining again outside, so we are going home tomorrow...

23 June 2012

It is late at night, I am writing from the capital of Brazil. We merely
made it from Iguazu Falls — as if the waterfall didn't want to let out
team go.

Under the morning rain (as you probably guessed by now) we arrived to
the airport to learn that our flight was cancelled. They offered us to
take a 4PM flight.

Clouds lifted a bit, and sun picked out for a moment. We grabbed out
bags and ran back to the park, to the waterfalls. I assembled our
helicopter on the floor in a car rental office while Dima signed papers.

[{Image src='08_Iguasu falls, Argentina-Brazil.jpg' caption='Iguasu falls, Argentina-Brazil' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='361'}]

When we entered the park, sun was still out, shining bright. We were
very excited. Well, as you can easily imagine, the sky got quickly
covered with dark clouds with no hope for an outbreak.

After an hour of waiting I proposed to shoot anyway, while waiting for
the sun. Agreed — we take off.

The helicopter flew far away from the observation deck — so scary! Ok,
it looks like we've got the pictures, time to go back. I land the
helicopter and remove the camera to check our "masterpieces." What the
hell? The focusing ring was messed up completely. All images can go down
the drain.

Alright! I prepare for the next flight. Now we got a strong wind and
light rain. We thoroughly check the camera and lens before take off.
Everything is fine.

[{Image src='09_Iguasu falls, Salta Bossetti, Argentina-Brazil.jpg' caption='Iguasu falls, Salta Bossetti, Argentina-Brazil' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='439'}]

We take off and start shooting. There was a moment when the helicopter
almost crashed due a strong turbulence, but we managed to keep it up. We
land and remove the camera — what the hell??? All our camera settings
were off! The humidity might have caused it, but we didn't care — all
images could go down the drain again. The following five minutes were
filled with loud cursing in Russian. Finally, I tell Dima "The waterfall
simply doesn't want to surrender to us. Let's wrap it up before we crash
the helicopter." Dima agreed.

Well, we couldn't help it and stayed for another 15 minutes or so. There
was an opening in the clouds. What do you think? We flew one more time.

It was probably the most thorough and precise pre-flight check we have
ever done. We checked every single detail three times. While at it, a
heavy cloud of mist came from the waterfall and we were forced to take
the helicopter higher to keep the lens relatively dry.

Fortunately, this flight went well. We quickly packed our gear and left
for the airport under heavy raindrops.

In the airport we found out that our flight was delayed for another hour
and a half, so our trip to Iguazu Falls turned to be one day longer.
There was no more sunlight. On the way back, when I looked out of an
airplane window, everything was covered with clouds. It was raining
again at Iguazu...

Photography by [Stanislav Sedov|http://rccam.livejournal.com] and [Dmitriy Moiseenko|http://www.dmphoto.ru]

Iguazu Falls in South America crowns the final stretch of the river
bearing the same name. Fifteen kilometers downstream from the
waterfalls, the Iguazu River (also known as Iguassu or Iguaçu) empties
into another waterway of the continent — the Paraná River. Both create a
sort of T-shaped crossroads where the three Latin American states come
together: Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. Huge frontier markers on the
three riverbanks are painted in the national colors of the respective
nations.

[{Image src='10_Iguasu falls, Argentina-Brazil.jpg' caption='Iguasu falls, Argentina-Brazil' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='600'}]

It is far from being unique that a waterfall creates a state borderline.
For example, Niagara Falls is a natural border between the United States
and Canada. Yet comparing to Iguazu Falls, the famous Niagara Falls
"look like a kitchen faucet," as Eleanor, the wife of the American
President Franklin Roosevelt, once said. The First Lady of the United
States had not overstated. The height of the Niagara Falls on the
Canadian side reaches 53 meters, whereas on the US side (because of
piled rocks beneath) it shows only 21 meters. Iguazu Falls, however,
drops from the heights of 60 to 80 meters.

It is not surprising that, translated from the language of native
Guarani Indians, Iguazu means "big water." Fantastic beauty of the site
is multiplied by a colorful rainbow, which can often be seen above the
sparkling mist and lush tropical vegetation along both riverbanks. It is
believed that Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca was the
first European to find this natural landmark of South America. He
reached the waterfalls in 1541 on his voyage through the jungle up the
Paraná River in search of the legendary treasures of Eldorado.

[{Image src='11_Iguasu falls, Argentina-Brazil.jpg' caption='Iguasu falls, Argentina-Brazil' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='600'}]

If Iguazu were a single curtain of water, it would be the widest
waterfall on the planet. However, this is not the case. Today the title
of the widest undivided waterfall in the world belongs to Victoria Falls
(1800 meters) in Africa. By the way, it is also a natural border between
Zambia and Zimbabwe.

As for Iguazy Falls, it consists of over 270 separate waterfalls with
total width of 2700 meters. Numerous islands of different size separate
waterfalls. In turn, the islands are connected by footbridges, where one
can enjoy a closer view of the falling water. The biggest waterfall of
the Iguazu cascade bears a grim name — the Devil's Throat (Garganta del
Diablo in Spanish or Garganta do Diabo in Portuguese); it also serves as
a border between Brazil and Argentina. The width of "The Throat" is 150
meters, and its length is 700 meters. The shape of the Devil's Throat
resembles a horseshoe and includes fourteen powerful waterfalls.

It is interesting that people just recently began using waterfalls for
their needs. For example, the Itaipu hydroelectric dam was opened only
in 1991. Built by Brazil and Paraguay, the Itaipu Dam generates 12 600
MW powering almost 40% of Brazil and Argentina. The Itaipu Dam is also
one of the largest dams in the world; both nations consider it a
masterpiece of modern technology.

[{Image src='12_Iguasu falls, Devils throat.jpg' caption='Iguasu falls, Devils throat' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='644'}]

The Iguazu National Parks located on both sides of the waterfall were
designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1984 — 1986. In 2011, Iguazu
Falls was announced as one of the winners of the "New Seven Wonders of
Nature."

Unfortunately, the Natural Wonder of Iguazu Falls is very fragile.
Approximately 1,5 to 3 tons of water flows down the Iguazu Falls every
second depending on the season. However, every 40 years a drought turns
Iguazu Falls into a basalt cliff. Last time it happened in May — June
1978: not a single drop of water has fallen into the Iguazu chasm for 28
days... On the other hand, major floods fill the waterfall up to the
brim. The only waterfall immune to weather in Brazil and Argentina is
the infamous "Devil's Throat."

[{Image src='13_Iguasu falls, Devils throat.jpg' caption='Iguasu falls, Devils throat' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='504'}]

Most of the waterfalls are located on the Argentinean side of Iguazu (2
100 meters long). Being much lower, Brazilian side, however, is
considered most spectacular, as one can enjoy a better view of the
waterfalls. You have an opportunity to look at the famous landmark of
South America from above and see that Iguazu Falls are stunning from
every angle.

\\ \\
[Panorama of Iguazu Falls|Geography/America/Brazil/Pictures/Panoramas_of_Iguazu_Falls]










[{SET customtitle='Iguazu Falls (AP)'}]

[{Metadata Suchbegriff=' Iguazu Falls Iguasu Falls' Kontrolle='Nein'}]