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The Rheinfall (Rhine Falls) are the largest plain waterfalls of Europe, just ahead of the Dettifoss in Iceland, which is half their height but twice their volume. They are located in the High Rhine upper course of the river Rhine, in the municipalities of Neuhausen am Rheinfall (canton Schaffhausen) and Laufen-Uhwiesen (canton Zürich), near the town of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland and close to the German border. They are 150 m wide and 23 m high. In the winter months, the average water flow is 250 m³/s, while in the summer, the average water flow is 700 m³/s. The highest flow ever measured was 1,250 m³/s in 1965; and the lowest, 95 m³/s in 1921. The Rhine Falls were formed in the last ice age, approximately 14,000 to 17,000 years ago, by erosion-resistant rocks narrowing the riverbed. The falls cannot by climbed by fish, except by eels that are able to worm their way up over the rocks.

[Text adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine_Falls]