The "Salto Angel" (Angel Falls) is the world's highest waterfall, three times the size of the Eiffel Tower. The waterfall was not known to the Western world until it was visited in 1935 by the American aviator, James Crawford Angel, on a flight whilst searching for a valuable ore bed. In 1936, he returned and landed his plane at the top of the waterfall. The falls are currently named "Angel Falls" after him. The waterfall drops from the plateau of Auyan-Tepui (means "Devil's Mountain"), which is located in the highland area known as La Gran Sabana. The region in which Angel Falls is located is covered with mesas, tropical rain forests, and grasslands. The fall is 979 meters high (3212 ft.), and is the higher waterfall in the world.