Iguazu falls with a rainbow under a clear blue sky

Photo by Rafael Peier on Unsplash

El Niño Floods Close Iguazu Falls Walkways

natureNov 10, 2026·370 words·3 min read

On Monday 12 October 2026, Iguazú National Park in Argentina's Misiones province closed the walkways at Iguazu Falls after an exceptional rise in the Iguazu River pushed its flow above 12,000 cubic metres per second. According to the Argentine Naval Prefecture, the river climbed just over two metres in one day at the town of Puerto Iguazú, reaching 24.30 metres and still rising, close to the 25-metre alert level.

Iguazu Falls is on the border between Argentina and Brazil, and it is the largest group of waterfalls in the world. Its name means 'big water' in a local language. The falls formed where the river runs over hard rock that came from very old lava. Depending on the water level, there are between 150 and 300 waterfalls.

The amount of water can change a lot. Normally, about 1,746 cubic metres go over the falls every second, but in 2014 the record was 45,700. In 2006, a drought (a long time without rain) cut the flow to only 300. The park around the falls protects a forest full of birds, monkeys and coatis. Most of the river's basin, the land that its water comes from, is in Brazil, so rain there is very important.

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