On seashore hikes you ponder the immensity of the universe and the endlessness of possibilities while staring at water that seems to go on forever. Falling water has, at times, the dramatic qualities of dance and flowing light. Watching a waterfall is like watching shooting stars or a hawk riding the wind - it's mesmerizing and endlessly beautiful. Part of the attraction is the motion. Even though mountains are rising and falling and continents are drifting, most of nature seems static.
Waterfalls offer a hint of the motion that lies at the heart of nature.
Here, we can see nature dance. The beauty of that dance can be difficult to capture, however. More than 35 trillion tons of water are released into the world's oceans each year through river channels. Nowhere is the immense power of that weight felt more strongly than at waterfalls. Stand at the lip of the Lower Falls in Yellowstone at high water and the rocks tremble beneath your feet.