Havasu Falls, Turquoise waterfall in Grand Canyon, United States.
Havasu Falls is a waterfall on Havasu Creek in the Havasupai Indian Reservation, Arizona, where one main chute drops 90 to 100 feet (27 to 30 m) over a vertical travertine cliff into plunge pools. The water's high calcium carbonate content gives it a blue-green color and builds natural travertine dams. The falls lie 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Supai.
The Havasupai have lived continuously in this section of the Grand Canyon for over 800 years. They protect these sacred waters as part of their ancestral territory.
Havasu or Havasuw comes from the Havasupai language: ha means water, vasu or vasuw means blue-green or turquoise, so the name can be read as blue-green water, referring to the colour created by the high calcium content and strengthened by the red rock in sunlight. The Havasupai are part of the Upland Yuma group with the Hualapai and Yavapai.
Access requires a permit that must be reserved several months in advance and an 8-mile hike from Hualapai Hilltop. Overnight stay in Supai village or at the campground is mandatory.
The high calcium carbonate content constantly reshapes the cascade and can split it into multiple streams. These minerals also build new limestone layers that grow slowly over time.
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