Paulo Afonso Falls

Paulo Afonso Falls
An 1850 painting of the falls
Location	Brazil
Type	Tiered
Total height	275 feet
Number of drops	3

Paulo Afonso Falls (Portuguese: Cachoeira de Paulo Afonso^[1]) 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)^[2] 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 m³/s), and floods exceeded 500,000 cu ft/s (14,000 m³/s).^[1][3]

The falls consist of a steep rapid that descends approximately 80 feet (24 m) and then drops a main plunge of 260 feet (79 m) into a narrow gorge.^[1]

The Paulo Afonso Hydroelectric Complex that grew from the original plant was known as Complexo Hidrelétrico de Paulo Afonso in Portuguese, or locally simply as Paulo Afonso.^[4] This, and later plants, such as the Hidrelétrica de Xingó downstream, near the town of Piranhas, Alagoas,^[5] provide much of the region with electric power.^[6]

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