Angel Falls

I am a long, sparkly ribbon of water that tumbles down a giant mountain in a big, green jungle. I feel like I tickle the clouds before I splash, splash, splash into the river below. I roar like a happy lion and sing a misty song for all the colorful birds. Can you guess who I am? I am Angel Falls, the tallest waterfall in the whole wide world.

I have been splashing here for a very, very long time. The Pemón people, who live in my jungle home, have always known me. They call me Kerepakupai Merú, which is a very special name. One day, a long, long time ago, a pilot named Jimmy Angel was flying his little airplane. On November 16th, 1933, he flew right past me. His eyes opened so wide. Wow. A few years later, on October 9th, 1937, he came back to visit and landed his plane on my mountain top. Oops. The plane got stuck. Jimmy had to walk and walk for 11 days to get home. It was a big adventure. Because he was so brave, people all over the world learned about me and started calling me Angel Falls, after my friend Jimmy.

Today, I am in a big park in a country called Venezuela. People come on boats and walk through the jungle just to say hello to me. They love to watch me dance and sparkle in the sunshine. Sometimes, I make pretty rainbows in my mist for them to see. I am here to remind everyone how beautiful our world is. My splashy song tells them to listen to nature and take good care of our wonderful planet. And I will keep on falling and singing my happy song forever.