Kerepakupai Merú  |  World Waterfall Database
Also Known as: Parakupa Vena, Salto Angel, Angel Falls
Kerepakupai Merú is the Official name of this waterfall
Kerepakupai Merú, or Parekupa-vena are the proper names given to Angel Falls by the indigenous Pemon Indians.  The name Angel Falls, as the world knows it, was bestowed upon the falls after James Angel, a bush pilot who crash-landed his plane on the mountain above the falls in November of 1933 while conducting aerial prospecting surveys in the area.  The falls were, however, first seen by a non-native in 1912 when Venezuelan explorer Ernesto Sanchez la Cruz stumbled upon the fall.  His name is not often attached with the waterfalls because he did not seek to publicize his find.
This waterfall has also been frequently cited with the incorrect title of Churún Merú.  This was at one point thought to be the Pemon name for Angel Falls, when in reality it applies to an entirely different waterfall about 6 kilometers further to the south.
Our thoughts
While Kerepakupai Merú is most certainly one of the greatest waterfalls on the planet, we grow more and more skeptical that it is either the tallest on earth or as tall as is claimed.  The survey team which measured the waterfall in 1949 took their measurements from the shores of the Rio Churún, almost a mile away from the base of the waterfall.  The elevation difference from the top of the Tepui to the Rio Churún is, conveniently, just over 3,300 feet and there is more than 500 feet of loss in elevation from the base of the waterfall to the point where the Rio Gauja flows into the Rio Churún.  Secondly, we are of the opinion that Kerepakupai Merú should only be considered the 2,648 foot plunge, as the river below the falls - aside from a 100 foot fall 1/4 mile downstream from the base of the main drop - is more or less flat.  This would make South Africa's Tugela Falls the tallest on earth, but this would in no way take anything away from how much of a monster this waterfall is - without question one of the top 5 on the planet.