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The Rhine Falls are located near the town of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland.

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It is the largest waterfall in western Europe at 450 feet wide and 75 feet high and consists of three falls, the Zurcher, Schaffhauser, and Muhle falls. The Rhine Falls were formed during the Wurm Glaciation some 16,000 years ago when when glaciers began to retreat and left behind a landscape filled with grooves and other scars from the heavy ice.

The Rhine Falls are located in a relatively urban area and in the 17th century a blast furnace for smelting iron ore and a millsite were built along the falls. Beginning in 1887, industrialists began applying for applications to use the falls to generate electricity. The first attempt was defeated by the Swiss Alpine Club. Another attempt to build a hydroelectric facility at Rhine Falls was similarly defeated in 1919. In 1944 permission was granted to build a hydroelectric power station beginning in 1952. In 1951, 150,000 Swiss citizens signed a petition against the project and once again no power station was built.

Today the Rhine Falls are a huge tourist attraction and it is highly unlikely any power station will ever be built at the falls.

Over 50,000 people visit the Rhine Falls on a daily basis. Since the falls are located near urban areas they are easily accessible by car, hiking, public transportation and bicycle. Viewing platforms exist on both sides of the falls offering tourists spectacular views.

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Boat trips take visitors up the Rhine River right to the edge of the falls in daredevil fashion.

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The Rhine Falls having been thrilling and awing visitors for centuries.

For more see Rhine River, Amazing Waterfalls and Great Rivers of Planet Earth.