Artificial waterfall

Not to be confused with waterfall created by an artificial dam.

An artificial waterfall is a water feature or fountain which imitates a natural waterfall.

Artificial waterfalls have long been featured in traditional Japanese gardens, where they can serve to highlight a scene or to provide focus. The classic gardening manual Sakuteiki, written in the mid-to-late 11th century, lists nine different types. The Cascata delle Marmore is an example of a man-made waterfall created by the ancient Romans.

Artificial waterfalls were popular in Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the famous waterfall in Viktoriapark in Berlin. An early American example is Huntington Waterfalls in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California. In 1896, Gardening Magazine reported that it was the only artificial waterfall in a public park in North America.

The Liebian International Plaza in Guiyang, Guizhou, China has a 108 m (354 ft) waterfall on one face of the 121 m (397 ft) mixed-use skyscraper.

The New York City Waterfalls (2008), a temporary public art installation by artist Olafur Eliasson, consisted of four human-made waterfalls constructed with 270 tons of exposed scaffolding.