Waterfall

Waterfall, See Water Differently

As we continue our journey to See Water Differently, we took in some amazing waterfalls in Galway and Mayo.

This exploration and rediscovery of freshwater, was really special and we learned so much about the specific role they play in ensuring our rivers stay alive. This journey took a whole day to explore, but was worth the effort to See Water Differently!

Key Sites Visited

Lough Nafooey, near Leenane Connemara

Aasleagh Falls

Tourmakeady

DYK! A waterfall or Cascade creates a unique habitat & environment for specific species. Typically you can only find mosses and liverworts close to the waterfall, but once you wander away there is no sign of them anymore. Before we visited the waterfall we learned this was possible, but to see and feel the difference in temperature, flora, diversity, and climate beside the waterfall, is was something really special.

We visited three waterfalls, and were very fortunate to catch so much footage and video of these wonderful Cascades in Galway.

We also learned that waterfalls provide a host of eco-services that provide health and stability for the whole river system. These include, Oxygenation, Natural Barriers, Sediment Control, Habitat Creation, Water Quality Improvement, and influence the flow dynamics of rivers. While we always think of waterfalls for zen and meditation, its really interesting to know they are so much more!

GEOSCIENCE KNOWLEDGE GAPS

As we took in the breathtaking views, we realised we had very little knowledge of the Geology of the area. While we were able to source some interesting information from Meehan et al. 2019. Geological Survey Ireland, it would be in our plans to include this important feature in our signage, to help us understand the role geoscience can play in education.

Robert Lloyd Praeger made a
brief note of the waterfall in his 1906 paper: ‘The fine waterfall above Lough Nafooey is remarkable
chiefly for the beautiful pebbles of jasper of many shades that fill the conglomerate at the top of the
waterfall’.

Summation

We thought that this would be the last of the #WaterWise Series, however we collected so much images and video, we have to share more of the ideas and knowledge gained during this exercise. In the Waterfall PDF we acknowledge the lack of knowledge on some of the images and species discovered, we also noted the fragility of these freshwater sources. It has been a wonderful campaign, and we look forward to exploring more of benefits of clean, clear, freshwater, not just for biodiversity, but for human life too.

To See Water Differently We Need To Protect our Freshwater Sources.

Small #SciComm video of how the Salmon jumps over Waterfalls.