The Falls of the Iguassú, which here lie half concealed by the crowding forests, are a worthy rival of Niagara. The scenery surrounding is, in its lone loveliness, in harmony with the solemn grandeur of the cataract. The roar of the waterfall is all the more impressive because of the solitude that reigns in these primeval forests. These falls cover a wide area, as they are nearly two miles in length. They are so great that they must be viewed from several points before their full magnitude dawns upon the traveller. They plunge out of the hidden recesses of the forest in many places, for numerous islands have been formed which are now densely wooded. Nature here seems to have revelled in perfect abandon in producing this wonderful spectacle. It is like another Niagara set out in the midst of a wilderness, where the hand of man has done nothing to add to or detract from what nature has here prepared for the delectation of mankind. The falls may be divided into two sections, the Argentine and Brazilian cascades. The Iguassú River is very wide just above the falls where it takes a very sharp turn prior to making the first plunge. It makes a series of three leaps, the last being a drop exceeding two hundred feet. The unequal erosion of the rock has given the falls a horseshoe shape very similar to Niagara. Below the falls the water passes through a narrow gorge where the depth is so great that a hundred fathom line has failed to sound it. The natives call it bottomless. In 1905, during an unusually severe rainy season, the water rose so high here, because of the narrowness of the gorge, that for five days it was backed up to the total height of the lowest falls, two hundred and ten feet.