The Jiktang Falls flows in a wide channel along the cross section of the Hantangang River, unlike other falls with narrow channels through the valleys. No wonder that it has been regarded as the Niagara Falls of Korea despite differences in size since there are striking similarities in their forms and formation processes. When basaltic lava contracts in the cooling process, it fractures to form polygon-shaped joints, i.e., columnar joints; they break off by the water cascading through the cracks, resulting in the development of a waterfall. The Jiktang Falls is 3m high and 80m wide, surrounded by basalt. However, a underlying granite (bedrock) is exposed at the base by erosion which stripped away the overlying basalt. In general, a waterfall gradually moves upstream by headward erosion as overhang above it wears out.