| Coordinates: | 37.7347 S 175.8798 E |
| No: | 190 (list of all attractions) |
| Category: | Waterfalls |
| Values: | Geology, Visual |
| Rank: | 6 |
| Address: | Australia and Oceania, New Zealand, North Island, Waikato, Kaimai Escarpment, some 15 km north-east from Matamata |
| Height: | 153 m |
Wairere Falls from road.
Ravisha Wijesinghe. CC BY 2.0
Wairere Falls.
Floyd Wilde. CC BY-SA 2.0
View from Wairere Falls to Hauraki Plains.
C. Rodliffe, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 3.0
It is considered that Wairere Falls are the tallest in Northern Island.
Waterfall has formed on Wairere stream, which falls over an interesting geological feature - Okauia (Ōkauia) fault - a fracture in Earth's crust. Fault divides Kaimai Range to the east and Hauraki Plains to the west, the later still are sinking per 2 mm every year.
Water falls over uneven, nearly vertical wall formed by volcanic rock.
As the Wairere stream reaches this fault, water falls down almost vertically. Waterfall has two cascades - the upper one is higher. Information regarding the height of each cascade is differing - upper cascade is 80 or 91 m tall, lower: 73 or 60 m tall.
Often winds catch the falls in upper cascade, rising the water upwards.
Nature trail leads up to the top of waterfall with beautiful view over the Hauraki Plains.
14 January 2011 Gatis Pāvils