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Iguazu Falls, Iguaz� Falls, Iguassu Falls or Igua�u Falls (Portuguese: Cataratas do Igua�u ; Spanish: Cataratas del Iguaz� Chororo Yguasu are waterfalls of the Iguazu River on the border of Brazilian state Paran� and Argentine province Misiones. The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu. The Iguazu River rises near the city of Curitiba. It flows through Brazil for most of its course. Below its confluence with the San Antonio River, the Iguazu River forms the boundary between Argentinaand Brazil.
The name "Iguazu" comes from the Guarani or Tupi words "y" , meaning "water", and "�as� "meaning "big". Legend has it that a god planned to marry a beautiful woman named Naip�, who fled with her mortal lover Tarob� in a canoe. In rage, the god sliced the river, creating the waterfalls and condemning the lovers to an eternal fall.[2] The first European to find the falls was the Spanish conquistador �lvar N��ez Cabeza de Vaca in 1541.
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