As of today, in season now. Earth Exhibit tracks the live conditions and flags it the moment it is on.
In a few of the world's wettest, steepest places, a heavy rain transforms the landscape in hours.
Cliffs that are normally bare suddenly run white with waterfalls — not one or two, but dozens to hundreds at once, some plunging over a thousand metres.
At Milford Sound in New Zealand's Fiordland, one of the wettest inhabited regions on Earth, alpine lakes and saturated rock shed water through every crack, and up to a couple of thousand cascades can appear between the cliffs during a downpour.
The same thing happens on Norway's fjord walls and along Hawaii's Nā Pali cliffs after tropical rain.
Within a day of the rain stopping, most of the falls shrink and vanish, leaving only the permanent ones.
It is a phenomenon you chase in bad weather — the harder it rains, the more spectacular the cliffs become.
Where to see it
A taste of where to see it. The full map, exact coordinates and the best timing for each spot live in the app.
| Viewing spots |
|---|
| Milford Sound / Piopiotahi |
| Geirangerfjord |
| + 1 more spot, with exact coordinates and timing, in the app → |
This is the short version
This page shows a taste. The app has the full list of where to see this, the exact timing, and live conditions for 1,000+ natural phenomena worldwide, so you know the moment one is genuinely worth the trip.