GEOG226 Blog- Iguazu

This past weekend we visited the Iguazu Falls, the second largest falls in the world after the Victoria Falls in Africa. Here we were able to see and experience a lot of what we specifically learned about in class. We saw the falls from the Argentine side, but many people visit the falls from the Brazilian side as well. The Devil's throat marks the border between Brazil and Argentina.

Our guide explained to us that the rainforest doesn't have different seasons. Instead there is a period with higher rainfall than others. The winter is considered the dry season and the summer is the rainy season. Right now, it is considered the rainy season, so we were very lucky to have such good weather and no rainfall while at the falls.

We were also able to see in a sense how the falls were formed. When the supercontinent, Pangea, split there was volcanic activity. The different layers of the falls, which you can see in the picture above, show the layers of molten material. Everything we walked on while climbing around the falls is made of molten material. 

Our new "soil tans"

We also got first hand experience of the lovely soil in Iguazu that we talked about in class. Because the soil contains a lot of iron, when it mixes with the air it oxidizes (becomes iron oxide= rust), giving it a reddish color. The soil itself is relatively infertile because of the insoluble materials it contains. The reason there is so much vegetation is due to the decomposition of litter which can be a number of things including leaves that drop from the trees, dead animals etc. This decomposition is what contains the soluble materials making growth possible. In class we talk about the buttresses that are found at the bases of the trees in the rainforest. We were able to see these when visiting the Guarani tribe. Because the roots are shallow, the trees have theses "buttresses" to help support them.

Our Guarani guide also taught us that they use the seeds from plants to make the jewelry that he was wearing. They look like wooden beads and are either white, brown, grey or black in color. He also told us that the Guarani use the liquid that comes from the bark of the Redwood trees in Baptism as well as to help with sickness.