Nature's grandest cascades
Few sights match a great waterfall, and this word search gathers the most famous. You'll track down the legends — NIAGARA on the US–Canada border, VICTORIA Falls in Africa, the wide IGUAZU in South America, and the world's tallest, ANGEL Falls.
Each puzzle pulls a fresh selection from the list, so the river changes every time you play — gentle on Easy, and a Hard-mode plunge once the diagonals and backwards words appear.
Where the words come from
There's a whole vocabulary to a waterfall, and it's here. Watch the water PLUNGE and PLUMMET over the CLIFF in a roaring CASCADE, drop tier by TIER into the BASIN below, and send up a fine MIST and SPRAY — often with a RAINBOW in it. Feel the CURRENT and the RAPIDS, hear the ROAR of the TORRENT, and trace the FLOW over the curved HORSESHOE edge.
How a waterfall forms
Waterfalls are made by the slow power of a river. Where the water flows over a band of hard rock sitting on top of softer rock, the soft rock wears away faster, leaving a step for the water to tumble over. Over thousands of years that step eats backwards upstream, carving out a deep GORGE behind it — which is exactly what's happening at NIAGARA.
The most spectacular show off nature's scale: ANGEL Falls in Venezuela drops almost a kilometre, the tallest on Earth, while VICTORIA Falls is so huge and noisy that its local name means 'the smoke that thunders'. That makes a waterfalls word search a perfect partner to a topic on rivers and erosion.
Play, print or make your own
Play online, or print a PDF pack for a rivers or erosion lesson. Want a grid of just the world's famous falls, or the science words? Use our Make Your Own tool to choose them and print matching copies for the class.
Frequently asked questions
Which waterfalls are in the word search?
The world's grandest — Niagara, Victoria, Iguazu and Angel Falls — plus waterfall words like cascade, plunge, cataract and mist. Each puzzle uses a fresh mix.
Does it explain how a waterfall works?
It does — the water PLUNGES over the CLIFF in a roaring CASCADE, drops tier by TIER into the BASIN, and throws up a MIST and SPRAY, sometimes with a RAINBOW.
Is it good for a rivers or erosion topic?
Great fit — pair it with a lesson on rivers and erosion. Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words.