Here are some waterfall types for you to "Ponder" when it comes to design.
To the average person, a waterfall is a waterfall. There's rocks and water.
The water flows over the rocks, and it makes a soothing sound. That sums it up, right?
You can really play with the way a waterfall sounds, and you can play with the way it looks. The 2 main types of waterfalls have enough variations to keep someone like me well equipped when designing a natural looking waterfall.
Talk to me about it and you will see a whole new waterfall world.
There are 2 main types of waterfalls that we build, with a third being a hybrid of the 2.
There is the "boulder waterfall" and the "waterfall drop". Each has it's positives, and our goal in creating a waterfall is to mix these waterfall types in the most natural way.
You have to consider what is more appropriate for your situation, and in our case what the client wants verses what we want.
One major example is that a boulder waterfall requires double to triple the water flow to give off a waterfall that is similar to a waterfall drop. So if your waterfall is going to be in the distance let's say, then waterfall drops are easier to see from a distance.
Or if you want a 50' stream that never gets above 2' in total elevation, then multiple boulder waterfalls are the way to go.
Each of the 2 main types of waterfalls can vary greatly in width and height. With that, the possibilities are endless.
Boulder Waterfalls
Some rocks are similar looking, but for the most part they are usually unique in color and shape. So when creating boulder waterfalls we are on the hunt for very uniquely shaped rock. A really good rock is all you need for a beautiful boulder waterfall.
The only skill is in knowing how to judge the rock's quality and being able to set the rock in a way that you accomplish the correct look.
It's funny, but thinking about how to describe my natural instinct, is like writing a book about how to swim. The uniqueness you are looking for is a rock with character. Does that help?
You need a stone that is jagged, or has holes in it, or is different than all of the others.
Before we ever get to a client's house, we know exactly what rocks are going where, and we can visualize the entire project by hand selecting the stone we will be using.
Sometimes it takes a little looking around the stone yard, but when you feel comfortable with the selection, and are excited, then run with it.
I have a mental inventory of available stone in Jacksonville by consistently walking around several different stone yards.
With that being said, I definitely hand select all of our project's stone.
I recommend if doing it yourself, put some thought into which rocks will be the "key" waterfall rocks. Maybe select several for several waterfalls, or just in case one fits better.
Waterfall Drops
Waterfall drops I feel are easier to create. All it is is a flat rock that the water flows over.
We will normally pick out a stone that is 2-3" thick, with a jagged side where the waterfall will drop from. Sometimes we will take more than one flat one and piece them together. Other times we will tilt one of them forward to create sort of a split look, or both tilting to the center.
The theory is to keep the drop under 3' in height. Really it should be a little less than 3', but 3' is the maximum.
We will try to case out the waterfall by adding big boulders on both sides of the waterfall. These should be as big as possible, and should have some character. This is also the "Aquascape way", I tend to agreed with them.
Once our 2 big rocks are in place, we build up to just below our waterfall's top height, and keep adding stone and testing our flat rock until it fits.
We also will try to add at least 1 big rock between the 2 on the sides to keep it from looking like all little rocks.
A tip for building a base for the flat rock is to make sure the rocks are solid. We will opt for stones that are slightly square and not just round for this part.
They should be able to be stacked without mortar or glue holding them in place.
Waterfall hybrid
Well, how would I define a waterfall hybrid? HMM...It's a "hybrid" of a boulder waterfall and a waterfall drop.
This one comes around via the water volume issue. If you are creating a waterfall drop, and don't have enough water volume, then you might end up with a hybrid and/or a boulder waterfall.
Likewise, if you have a lot of water volume on a boulder fall you might end up with a hybrid and/or a waterfall drop.
Conclusion
Become open minded about waterfall design. You have so many options to work with, why not get creative with it?
TIP: About 1500 gallons per hour per linear foot of waterfall drop are needed to make it "drop" right. And about 3000 gallons per hour per linear foot of boulder waterfall are needed to make it look right.