The river disappears about 30 metres (98 feet) back from the clifftop into flooded caves in the lava and pours out halfway up the cliff on the far side of the flow.

[2][3] After rain, part of the flow passes over the top of the cliff as a 65 m (213 ft) tall companion fall.

Ngāti Rangitihi, one of the eight Te Arawa tribal groups, are the current guardians of the area and consider the site of the waterfall a sacred place.

[2] The falls were formed where the 14,009 ± 155 BP[6]: 4  Pokohu lava flow from the Waiohau eruption of Mount Tarawera covered earlier tephra deposits.

[1]: 491  The major contributor to today's amphitheatre, was likely to be the large flood that followed the lake outlet damming by events associated with the 5526 ± 145 BP[6]: 4  Whakatane eruption.