The Baatara gorge waterfall (Balaa gorge waterfall) is a waterfall

Waterfall

A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...

 in the Tannourine

Tannourine

Tannourine is a Lebanese municipality located in the Batroun_District, part of the Mohafazah of North-Lebanon, 75 km from the capital Beirut.-Etymology:...

, Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

.

The waterfall drops 255 metres (836.6 ft) into the Baatara Pothole, a cave of Jurassic limestone located on the Lebanon Mountain Trail

Lebanon Mountain Trail

The Lebanon Mountain Trail is a long-distance hiking trail in Lebanon. It extends from Qbaiyat in the north of Lebanon to Marjaayoun in the south, a path that transects more than 75 towns and villages at altitudes ranging from 600 to 2,000 meters above sea level...

..

Discovered in 1952 by French bio-speleologist Henri Coiffait, the waterfall and accompanying sinkhole

Sinkhole

A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...

 were fully mapped in the 1980s by the Speleo club du liban

Speleo club du liban

Spéléo Club du Liban was formed in 1951. It is considered one of the oldest caving associations in the Middle East.-History:...

. The cave is also known as the "Cave of the Three Bridges." Traveling from Laklouk to Tannourine

Tannourine

Tannourine is a Lebanese municipality located in the Batroun_District, part of the Mohafazah of North-Lebanon, 75 km from the capital Beirut.-Etymology:...

 one passes the village of Balaa, and the "Three Bridges Chasm" (in French "Gouffre des Trois Ponts") is a five-minute journey into the valley below where one sees three natural bridges, rising one above the other and overhanging a chasm descending into Mount Lebanon

Mount Lebanon

Mount Lebanon , as a geographic designation, is a Lebanese mountain range, averaging above 2,200 meters in height and receiving a substantial amount of precipitation, including snow, which averages around four meters deep. It extends across the whole country along about , parallel to the...

. During the spring snow melt, a 90 – cascade falls behind the three bridges and then down into the 250 metres (820.2 ft) chasm. A 1988 florescent dye test demonstrated that the water emerged at the spring of Dalleh in Mgharet al-Ghaouaghir.

External links

• Balaa the 3 leveled waterfall - Photograph
• Gouffre de Balaa - Photograph
• Chasm bridges Tannourine Balaa