The Golling Wasserfall
Ashley Karas 2nd Hour
Summer Fun
This summer I went to Europe with the Green Bay Girl Choir for our summer tour. We stopped in many different places between Munich, Germany and Vienna, Austria. One of those places was the Golling Waterfall in Golling, Austria. The afternoon of July 4, 2015 our group of 52 children and adults set off on our hour drive to Golling. Once we arrived we had an amazing buffet lunch filled with American food. Afterward all of the festival choirs headed up to the top of the waterfall. There were two other American choir one from Chicago and the other from Virginia. When we reached the the base of the waterfall everyone grabbed their cameras to snap a picture of the gorgeous falls. We started our treacherous climb to the top. The trailed weaved back and forth making it about three miles long. Once we reach half way we took a bridge across the falls and the mist the came off of it was amazing. We just happen to be there during a huge heat wave making it about 105°F or more each day, but to make it worse we were all in pants. Everywhere we go for tours our choir directors want us to learn about part of the environment or nature and this time we ended up going to the waterfall. The waterfall and the nature around it was beautiful. It felt like we were in a postcard.
Look at Me!
This is me, standing at the base of the waterfall and taking a selfie. There was so much water that as it fell it blew a huge mist over everyone.
Here is (from left to right) Sami, Marion, Abigail, Bri, and Aubrey posing in front of the waterfall. The water fall plunges down 75 meters and flows into a river afterward.
Here is the Golling waterfall. The waterfall is one point eight miles high and to get to the top you get to twist and turn through about three miles of stairs.
The Science of it: Water Cycle
The water cycle has many different parts condensation, evaporation, runoff, and precipitation. Waterfalls fall into the runoff category, but they use all of the steps of the water cycle to keep it flowing. It starts with precipitation, when it rains upstream the waterfall will flow through the waterfall. Next the entire waterfall is a runoff because water is constantly flowing through it as it flows down to the river. Then the waterfall starts the process of refilling itself, first the water in the river will evaporates when it's hot and it condenses into a cloud so it can fall upstream. It's amazing how nature can replenish itself to sustain its geological features without them even breathing.
The Science of it: Erosion
Waterfalls just like everything else don't just magically appear they had to be made slowly. Many year ago waterfalls where just soft rock with water streaming through. Different things like to erode the rocks and were them down. Rocks, sticks, leaves and many other things enter the water and overtime all of these break down the rock. After all the erosion a cliff is form. As the water flows the waterfall gets larger and stronger. Even the largest things in nature can be effected by the smallest.
I Wonder...
- When the high pressure of the water hits the pool below, how does it generate mist when it lands?
- How do natural disasters like earthquakes hurricanes and tornadoes form waterfalls?
- How strong is the force of the water when it hits the pool below the waterfall?
- Will different air pressures affect the way waterfalls work?
- How are different waterfalls classified?
- What are the different types of waterfalls?
Citations
- "Surface Runoff - The Water Cycle." , from USGS Water-Science School. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Sept. 2015. <http://water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclerunoff.html>.
- "Waterfall." National Geographic Education. N.p., 14 Apr. 2010. Web. 04 Sept. 2015. <http://education.nationalgeographic.com/encyclopedia/waterfall/>.