Allure
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If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water. Loren Eiseley
The Magic of Falling Water
What is it about waterfalls that draws us to them? Trees, animals, scenic landscapes, and all sorts of other things in nature appeal to us, but few things affect us the way waterfalls do.
It can’t just be their beauty. A lot of things are beautiful, and if that were it, wouldn’t we experience similar sensations when we look at pictures of waterfalls? So, there must be a real physiological response from being at the waterfall. And it’s a different kind of response from what we get by looking at trees or landscapes.
An often-stated answer is that the negative ions produced at waterfalls increase serotonin, the hormone that generates feelings of well-being. While some claim this as fact, there is no undisputed scientific evidence to support it.
A 2013 review of studies evaluating the positive effects of air ionization found that “Consistent ionization effects were not observed for anxiety, mood, relaxation/sleep, and personal comfort.”55 A different systematic review of negative-ion studies performed in 2018 found that “no consistent or reliable evidence in therapeutic effects were achieved.”56
An increase in serotonin may be partly responsible for our mood at waterfalls, but I think any increase comes from other stimuli.
Think about how you feel when you see a waterfall up ahead on the trail, or you see a roadside waterfall from your car. It affects you in a certain way. Now, how does it affect you when you get close enough to hear it? It’s a different sensation, right? What about when you reach the base and feel the spray? More sensations, right?
I believe the answer to why waterfalls affect us as they do partly lies in how waterfalls engage all our senses at once. Standing at the base of a waterfall we feel the spray against our skin. We hear the calming or roaring sound of the falling water. We smell and taste the moisture in the air. And, of course, we see the beauty.
Our sense of hearing and sight have a particular role to play, and not just because waterfalls are beautiful to look at and that we like the sound. Heraclitus said one cannot step into the same river twice. The same metaphor can be applied to waterfalls, for one never sees or hears the same fall. The water moves and changes, and the light reflects differently off each drop. The sound changes with each variation in water movement. And while our sight and hearing are working overtime, our senses of taste, touch, and smell are heightened.
Crashing waves on the beach, thunderstorms, falling snow, rain, and fire are among the few things in nature that affect our senses similar to the way waterfalls do, and each of these can have the same mood-enhancing effect on people. However, waterfalls hold a special place among this group.
The "Shock" of Beauty
Which brings up the “shock” hypothesis. Credit for this goes to my dear late brother, Steve, who's methodical analysis of waterfall allure has helped shaped my hypotheses.
Among the ways waterfalls are different from many other natural sights is that they are usually not continuously affecting our senses, and then when they do, it is often abrupt. It becomes a jolt to our senses, which takes us a bit out of our typical passive journey through existence.
Consider a drive along a scenic road such as the Blue Ridge Parkway. Some overlooks provide more appealing views than others, but for the entire drive we are immersed in a landscape of mountains and trees and distant views. And we experience the mountains even before we reach the Parkway. So, pulling into an overlook is less likely to provide a jolt to our system. It is expected. It has already been imbedded into our minds.
A waterfall, on the other hand, is its own entity. It takes up a place in the environment all its own, and when we visit it, we experience it as something different. Even though we are expecting to see a waterfall, it’s still jarring and exciting when we do.
I believe those sensations, combined with having all our senses stimulated, are what makes waterfalls so enthralling.
Waterfall Allure for Animals
And it is possible that they [chimpanzees] have what I can only describe as a sense of awe at the wonder of nature. For example, they perform impressive and rhythmic displays at the base of magnificent waterfalls deep in the forest and then sit, watching as the water falls down and down and then flows past them and away. Jane Goodall100
Do waterfalls affect animals like they do people? I don’t know, but I have a feeling they do. One time at English Falls I watched a young eastern box turtle sitting under one of the little water streams. It just sat there, water hitting its shell, spray all over the place. Why? It easily could have moved a few feet to get out from under the falling water.
Watch this video of chimpanzees at a waterfall, narrated by Jane Goodall, and see what you think.
