The World's Largest Waterfall Is Underwater
Between Greenland, Norway, and Iceland, cold salty water plunges nearly four kilometers down, moving 15 times more water than all rivers combined.
Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell · The Gulf Stream ExplainedThe world's largest waterfall is underwater, plunging up to 4,000 meters between Greenland, Norway, and Iceland.
It is fed by the Gulf Stream, the current that carries warm water north from the tropics toward Europe. As that water reaches the far north, it cools. Evaporation raises its salt content, making it saltier, denser, and heavier, until it sinks.
It does not sink gently. It falls in roughly 15-kilometer-wide pillars, known as the Chimneys, at a rate of 17 million cubic meters per second. That is about 15 times the water carried by every river on Earth combined.
The plunge creates a powerful maelstrom that constantly pulls new warm water in behind it. That suction is a main reason the Gulf Stream keeps moving toward Europe, carrying countless species along for the ride from the Caribbean to northern waters.
Questions people ask
Why does the water fall instead of just mixing in?
Cold water is denser than warm water, and saltier water is denser than fresher water. When Gulf Stream water cools in the far north and loses freshwater to evaporation, it becomes heavy enough to sink below the lighter water around it. That density difference drives the plunge and keeps the circulation going.
Can you see or hear this waterfall?
No. It happens entirely below the ocean surface, with no cliff or crashing foam to mark it. Scientists map it by tracking temperature, salinity, and currents, not with photographs. From a ship above, you would see only cold North Atlantic water.
What does a sinking waterfall have to do with Europe's weather?
The sinking pulls warm surface water north behind it, which is the engine that keeps the Gulf Stream flowing toward Europe. That current delivers huge amounts of tropical heat to northern latitudes. Without that steady pull, much less warm water would reach Europe.