  the rhine falls (rheinfall in german) is the largest plain waterfall in europe.water sources swissworld.org the falls are located on the high rhine between the municipalities of neuhausen am rheinfall and laufen-uhwiesen, near the town of schaffhausen in northern switzerland, between the cantons of schaffhausen and zÃ¼rich. they are 150&nbsp;m (450&nbsp;ft) wide and 23&nbsp;m (75&nbsp;ft) high. in the winter months, the average water flow is 250 mÂ³/s, while in the summer, the average water flow is 700 mÂ³/s. the highest flow ever measured was 1,250 mÂ³/s in 1965; and the lowest, 95 mÂ³/s in 1921. the falls cannot be climbed by fish, except by eels that are able to worm their way up over the rocks. ==geology== thumb|left|200px|the rhine falls seen from the rhine the rhine falls were formed in the last ice age, approximately 14,000 to 17,000 years ago, by erosion-resistant rocks narrowing the riverbed. the first glacial advances created today's landforms approximately 500,000 years ago. up to the end of the wolstonian stage approximately 132,000 years ago, the rhine flowed westwards from schaffhausen past klettgau. this earlier riverbed later filled up with gravel. about 132,000 years ago the course of the river changed southwards at schaffhausen and formed a new channel, which also filled up with gravel. part of the rhine today includes this ancient riverbed. during the wÃ¼rm glaciation, the rhine was pushed far to the south to its present course, over a hard late jurassic limestone bed. as the river flowed over both the hard limestone and the easily eroded gravel from previous glaciations, the current waterfall formed about 14,000 to 17,000 years ago. the rheinfallfelsen, a large rock, is the remnant of the original limestone cliff flanking the former channel. the rock has eroded very little over the years because relatively little sediment comes down the rhine from lake constance. ==economics== the north side of the falls is a millsite. in the 17th century, a blast furnace for smelting iron ore found in the limestone was built. it was in operation until the first half of the 19th century. in 1887 the ironworks applied for permission to divert between one fifth to one half of the river's flow for electricity generation. the [[s
Block_waterfalls IUCN_Category_III Visitor_attractions_in_Switzerland Waterfalls_of_Switzerland