Paulo Afonso Falls

Paulo Afonso Falls (Portuguese: Cachoeira de Paulo Afonso) is a series of waterfalls on the São Francisco River in the north-east of Brazil adjacent to the city of Paulo Afonso. They stand up to 275 feet (84 m) high. Upstream of the falls, a hydroelectric dam, the Hidrelétrica de Angiquinho (the first hydroelectric plant in northeastern Brazil) blocks the flow of the river. Prior to the damming of the river, the average water flow over the falls was over 100,000 cu ft/s (2,800 m/s), and floods exceeded 500,000 cu ft/s (14,000 m/s).