Angel Falls, named after the explorer and bush pilot Jimmy Angel, on the Carrao tributary in Venezuela is the highest waterfall in the world. It has a total height of 3,212 feet (979 meters) with its longest unbroken drop being 2,648 feet (807 meters).

It is difficult to determine the height of a waterfall because many are composed of several sections rather than one straight drop. The highest waterfall in the United States is Yosemite Falls on a tributary of the Merced River in Yosemite National Park, California, with a total drop of 2,425 feet (739 meters). There are three sections to the Yosemite Falls: Upper Yosemite is 1,430 feet (435 meters), Cascades (middle portion) is 675 feet (205 meters), and Lower Yosemite is 320 feet (97 meters).