Is this Australia’s most unusual natural wonder?
From the Great Barrier Reef to Uluru, Australia is home to an abundance of incredible natural wonders that you can find nowhere else on earth. And if you’re willing to make the trek to Western Australia’s extraordinary Kimberley region, you can come face to face with what may well be the most unusual of the whole bunch!
The Horizontal Waterfalls, famously described by Sir David Attenborough as, “Australia’s most unusual natural wonder”, is a unique ocean phenomenon that’s formed by a high tidal shift when it’s forced to compress through narrow breaks.
Seawater builds up faster on one side of the gaps, creating a waterfall that can be up to five metres high on a King tide. With each tide change the direction of the falls reverses, and as a result these vast tidal whirlpools form on either side. During high tides, as much as one million litres of water gushes through the gaps every second.
The sheer velocity and mass of the water involved in this process that occurs twice every day, makes it one of the largest regular tidal changes in the world.
There was a time where few people had witnessed this incredible sight, but now thanks to regular seaplanes from Broome and Derby and expedition cruises along the Kimberley Coastline, it’s accessible to many intrepid tourists.
So what are your thoughts? Do you think the Horizontal Waterfalls are Australia’s most unusual natural wonder? Have you ever witnessed them in action?