waterfall height." There are various types and methods to classify waterfalls. Some scholars have included rapids as a subsection. What actually constitutes a waterfall continues to be debated.

Waterfalls are sometimes interchangeably referred to as "cascades" and "cataracts", though some sources specify a cataract as being a larger and more powerful waterfall and a cascade as being smaller. A plunge pool is a type of stream pool formed at the bottom of a waterfall.