On the Route of the Waterfalls Jan 17, 2021

Coursing down the steep slopes of the Andes, the Pastaza River meets the edge of the Amazon jungle when it"s forced through a narrow channel that concentrates the river"s power like a firehose. The roiling torrent then shoots over the edge of this mountainside, plunging 200 feet into a cauldron-shaped pool. Agoyán, better known as El Pailón del Diablo (The Devil"s Cauldron), is Ecuador"s tallest and most famous waterfall. It"s a highlight of the Ruta de las Cascadas (Route of the Waterfalls), a popular circuit of the many waterfalls and hot springs near the mountain town of Baños de Agua Santa.

© Laura BC/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Jan 17, 2018Train crossing the Tadami River in Japan
Jan 17, 2019A wassailing we go
Jan 17, 2020A seabird gets schooled
Jan 17, 2022Martin Luther King Day
Jan 17, 2023Muniellos Nature Reserve
Jan 17, 2024Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany
Jan 17, 2025Brown pelican, San Diego, California

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jan 2, 2022Prague, Czech Republic
Sep 23, 2019Stepping into autumn
Aug 31, 2025Scotts Bluff National Monument, Gering, Nebraska
Mar 12, 2025Château de Sully-sur-Loire, Center-Val de Loire, France
Oct 18, 2018Fall comes to the Last Frontier
Aug 13, 2021Fight for your lefts
Nov 1, 2018Celebrating the Day of the Dead
Jul 8, 2021A storied trail marks a century
Oct 5, 2021A day to celebrate teachers
Nov 19, 2018A narrow passage
Apr 27, 2025Halemaumau Crater, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Mar 20, 2019Hello, spring!
Mar 23, 2024World Meteorological Day
Aug 11, 2024Wooden path to Kennedy Lake, Vancouver Island, Canada
Oct 1, 2023Lake Bled, Slovenia
Oct 1, 2019It s Coffee Day
Oct 21, 2018Welcome to El Cervantino
Mar 31, 2021Paradise, found
Feb 25, 2018Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Aug 22, 2025Rolling hills of the Palouse, Washington
Apr 29, 2018National Park Week: Olympic National Park, Washington
Feb 7, 2022Rideau Canal Skateway in Ottawa, Canada
Mar 19, 2023Barn owl, England
Sep 14, 2019I am the walrus
Feb 11, 2025Yungang Grottoes, Shanxi, China
Nov 10, 2021Cumberland Island National Seashore
Aug 2, 2021This reef is nowhere near the sea…
Aug 10, 2021Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch on the institution s 175th anniversary
Nov 29, 2018A Christmas market with a long history
May 10, 2025Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota