series of three cataracts on the Arthur River, 14 mi (23 km) southeast of Milford Sound in the southwest portion of South Island, New Zealand. The falls rank among the world's highest, with a total drop of 1,904 ft (580 m) in leaps of 815 ft, 751 ft, and 338 ft. Fed by water from the snow-fed Lake Quill, the falls are within the Fiordland National Park. They were named for Donald Sutherland, a prospector, who in 1880 became the first European to see them.