The Cataracts are the waterfalls that make the River Silver's descent from middle Rathillien down to the bottom of the Escarpment.[1] The area was the scene of the Battle of the Cataracts, where the forces of the Kencyrath and their Karkinoran allies turned aside the much larger Waster Horde.[2]
The falls are split into two halves by Eldest Island. The narrower western channel descends in two falls, the first of about a hundred feet and the second about twice that into a cauldron of seething water.[3] The wider eastern channel descends in one fall of approximately three hundred feet. The Mendelin Steps descend alongside the western channel in two flights.
See also[]
- Hurlen, the island city just upstream, including Grand Hurlen, its largest island
- The boat-guard, a chain stretched across the river just downstream of Hurlen that stops boats from going over the Cataracts
- The Upper Hurdles and Lower Hurdles, natural stone ledges or steps separating the meadows of the Silver's western bank at different levels
- The Upper Meadow, Middle Meadow and Lower Meadow
- The Heart of the Woods, a natural amphitheater deep in the woods near the Lower Meadow