The falls are located 210 kilometres (130 mi) upstream from the confluence of the Caura and Orinoco, and are considered the boundary between the upper and lower sections of the river.

[2] Due to the difficulty of portaging past the falls, they are a traditional boundary for the Ye'kuana and Kalina tribes.

[3] French naturalist Eugène André was the first European to describe the falls, on his 1900 exploration of the Caura River.

In an article for The Geographical Journal he wrote:[4] The falls of Pará constitute a formidable barrier to the navigation of the Caura.

The right-hand stream is of much greater volume than that on the left, which, after a severe drought, dries almost completely up.In 1976 the state owned power company CADAFE studied the Pará falls as a potential site for a hydroelectric plant.