The ledge
Bank to bank.
Zairon — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Zairon — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Zairon — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Zairon — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Zairon — CC BY-SA 4.0
Venta Rapid is a waterfall on the Venta River in the town of Kuldiga in western Latvia, and the widest waterfall in Europe. It is about 249 metres across, widening to about 275 metres in spring floods, while its height is only about two metres. It is made of dolomite: the soft lower layer wears away faster than the hard upper one, which overhangs and sometimes collapses into the river, so the falls slowly retreat. Kuldiga grew up here because the falls blocked river shipping in the Middle Ages. In spring, vimba fish try to leap over it on their way upstream. You see a long line of white water dropping over a low rock ledge from bank to bank, with green grassy islands and shallow pools between flat rocks below. Thick trees line both banks, and a red brick bridge with arches crosses the river above. It is about a kilometre from Kuldiga's town hall square in a straight line. The rocks are slippery, and in summer some visitors wade along the lip of the falls when the water is low.
Bank to bank.
Green and grassy.
Red brick.
Venta River, Kuldiga, Latvia
The soft lower layer wears away and the upper ledge slowly collapses.
In spring, when vimba fish swim upstream.
