Waterfalls That Flow Into the Open Ocean

Out of the over 7,800 documented waterfalls in the world, there are only 31 known perennial and seasonal waterfalls that empty directly into an open ocean or sea (as opposed flowing into a river, stream, inlet, or fjord).

Waterfalls that flow directly into an ocean are known as tidefalls.

The breakdown of tidefalls by regions (this list is not by continents) is: three in Africa, seven in Asia, eight in Europe, eight in North America, five in Oceania, and one in South America.

Drops are provided in the sourced units (metric, Imperial, or both) where available.

List of tidefalls in the world

Waterfall	Country	Region	Latitude	Longitude
Lobé Waterfalls	Cameroon	Africa	2.88262266	9.89760057
Waterfall Bluff	South Africa	Africa	-31.433451	29.82198
Mfihlelo Falls	South Africa	Africa	-31.437562	29.786542
Jeongbang Waterfall	South Korea	Asia	33.2477687	126.554374
Mursala Island Waterfall	Indonesia	Asia	1.69530746	98.4478888
Banyutibo Waterfall	Indonesia	Asia	-8.0900803	110.912839
Kahatola Waterfall	Indonesia	Asia	2.71307364	127.542991
Pyamaluguan Sabang Waterfall	The Philippines	Asia	10.2085437	118.876694
Catandayagan Waterfall	The Philippines	Asia	12.6943603	123.680284
Düden Kıyı Şelalesi Waterfall	Turkey	Asia	36.8557688	30.782702
Cascara del Ézaro waterfall	Spain	Europe	42.9076709	-9.1274017
Cascada de Maro	Spain	Europe	36.7533584	-3.8396687
Mealt Falls	United Kingdom	Europe	57.8382739	-6.1518718
Ketubjorg	Iceland	Europe	66.0336813	-20.006753
Tresaith Waterfall	Wales	Europe	52.2157784	-4.510226
St Audries Waterfall	England	Europe	51.2559886	-3.2962579
Mulafossur Waterfall	Faroe Islands	Europe	62.1076852	-7.4354291
Bøsdalafossur	Faroe Islands	Europe	62.0239004	-7.2393953
Tsusiat Falls	Canada	North America	48.6909931	-124.92662
McWay Falls	USA	North America	36.157898	-121.67218
Alamere Falls	USA	North America	37.9781105	-122.78066
Strawberry Bay Falls	USA	North America	47.878814	-124.58726
Dunns River Falls	Jamaica	North America	18.4169792	-77.138648
Wavine Cyrique Falls	Dominica	North America	15.3663823	-61.25206
Cocalito Falls	Costa Rica	North America	9.68690933	-85.023822
Kaluahine Falls	USA	North America	20.1231216	-155.58804
Savulevu Yvonne Waterfall	Fiji	Oceania	-16.864923	-179.90065
Curracurrong Falls	Australia	Oceania	-34.153416	151.099554
Waterfall Bay	Australia	Oceania	-43.057617	147.947538
Mu Pagoa Falls	Samoa	Oceania	-13.776446	-172.37855
Saco Bravo	Brazil	South America	-23.359072	-44.586035

World map of tidefalls

Waterfalls that empty into the ocean in Africa

There are three waterfalls in Africa that empty in an ocean: one in Cameroon and two in South Africa.

Lobé waterfalls fall from a height of 20 meters into the Atlantic Ocean near Kribi, Cameroon.

Waterfall Bluff is located in the  Lusikisiki Eastern Cape, South Africa. Seasonal waterfalls in this area empty in the Indian Ocean.

Mfihlelo Falls is located in the Eastern Cape of South Africa only a few kilometers from Waterfall Bluff. Mfihlelo, which means secret, is the unofficial name of this waterfall.

Waterfalls that empty into the ocean in Asia

Asia has six waterfalls that empty into the ocean: one in South Korea, three in Indonesia and two in the Philippines, and one in Turkey.

Jeongbang Waterfall is a 23 meter (75 foot) high tidefall located on Jeju Island in South Korea. The waterfall empties into the East China Sea along the south end of the island.

Mursala Island Waterfall in Indonesia empties into the Indian Ocean that is 15 meters high.

Banyu Tibo Waterfall is located in Indonesia’s East Java Province. Banyu Tibo is a Javanese phrase that meaning “falling water”.

Kahatola Waterfall is a 45-metter high tidefall on Ternate Island in the Maluku Islands in Indonesia

Pyamaluguan Sabang Waterfall in The Philippines is over 50 feet high and empties into the South China Sea.

Catandayagan Waterfall in Ticao Island, The Philippines is a 100-foot tall tidefall that empties into the Massbat Pass.

Düden Kıyı Şelalesi Waterfalls near Antalya, Turkey empty into the Mediterranean Sea.

Waterfalls that empty into the ocean in Europe

There are eight waterfalls in Europe that empty directly into the ocean: two in Spain, three in the United Kingdom, one in Iceland, and two in the Faroe Islands, an island country that is part of Denmark.

Cascada del Ézaro waterfall in a 155 meter high tidefall located in Dumbría, Galicia, Spain that empties into the North Atlantic Ocean.

Cascada de Maro is a tidefall that drops from a height of 15 meters in Maro, Málaga, Spain and empties into the Alborean Sea.

Mealt Falls located on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, United Kingdom is where Loch Mealt enters the Atlantic Ocean.

Tresaith Waterfall is located on Tresaith beach in Ceredigion, Wales, United Kingdom and empties in St. George’s Channel in the Atlantic Ocean.

St. Audries Waterfall is located at the foot of the Quantock Hills in St Audries Bay, England, United Kingdom. The tidefall empties into the Bristol Channel in the Atlantic Ocean.

Ketubjorg is a roughly 120 meter waterfall near Skagafjörður in the Northwest region of Iceland.

Mulafossur Waterfall is a tidefall on the Faroe Islands, Denmark that empties into the North Atlantic Ocean.

Bøsdalafossur is a waterfall in the Faroe Islands that floes from Sørvágsvatn Lake into the Atlantic Ocean.

Waterfalls that empty into the ocean in North America

There are eight waterfalls in North America that fall directly into an ocean.

Four of those waterfalls are in the United States. Of the three continental U.S. tidefalls, two are in California and one is in the state of Washington. The fourth tidefall is located on the island of Hawaii.

Canada, Jamaica, Domnica, and Costa Rica each have one waterfall that empties directly into the open ocean.

Tsusiat Falls is located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada and empties into the North Pacific Ocean.

McWay Falls is an oceanside waterfall in northern California just south of Big Sur. The 80 foot waterfall empties into the Pacific Ocean during high tide. During low tide, MacWay Falls falls onto the beach.

Alamere Falls is a waterfall located within the Phillip Burton Wilderness just north of San Francisco in California, USA. The waterfall empties water off a roughly 40-foot-tall (~12 m) cliff located on the south end of Wildcat Beach. Access to Alamere Falls is via a 13-mile (20 kilometer) round-trip hike. Alamere Falls is a tide fall.

Strawberry Bay Falls is located at the south end of Third Beach in Olympia National Parl in Washington, USA. Erosion from the stream that empties down a 100-foot fall has carved a hanging valley into the cliff at Third Beach.

Kaluahine Falls on the island of Hawaii falls 620 feet over one drop into the Pacific Ocean.

Dunns River Falls is a terraced waterfall in Ohio Rios, Jamaica that empties into the Carribean Sea.

Wavine Cyrique Falls is a 150-foot tidefall in Dominica that empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

Cocalito Falls (or El Chorro) located at Playa Cocalito, Tambor, Costa Rica is a very short waterfall about ten meters high. The falls empties in the Gulf of Nicoya in the Pacific Ocean.

Oceania waterfalls at the ocean

There are four tidefalls in the Oceanic region. Australia has two of the four waterfalls in Oceania that empty directly into the ocean. One tidefall is in Fiji and one is in Samoa.

Savulevu Yavonu Waterfall is located in the eastern part of Taveuni Island in Fiji. According to one report, landslides have altered the waterfall so that it no longer directly empties into the ocean. Savulevu Yavonu Waterfall drops about 65 feet (20 meters) into the South Pacific Ocean.

Curracurrong Falls is a tidefall in the Royal National Park located in NSW, Australia adjacent to Eagle Rock. Curracurrong Falls is only accessible by foot along a hiking trail. The waterfall has a drop of 262 feet (80 meters) into the South Pacific Ocean.

Waterfall Bay is located in Tasman National Park in Australia. The waterfall plummets 400 feet (122 meters) over a perpendicular cliff into the Tasman Sea.

Mu Pagoa Falls is located on the south-east coast of Sava’i island in Samoa’s Palauli district. The waterfall is only 12 feet high (4 meters). Puleia and Gautavai are the closest towns to the waterfall.

South America tidefalls

There is only one waterfall in South America that empties directly into the ocean. This tidefall is located in Brazil.

Saco Bravo is located near Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

Related

• California’s Drought is Driving Reservoirs to Near Historic Lows in 2021
• Exploring Rainbows and Moonbows
• Geography of U.S. National Parks
• How Hydropower is Changing the Balkan Landscape