The Formation of the Rhine Falls
The geology in the area Neuhausen and Laufen on one side and the glaciological and hydrological processes during the glacial period at the same time characterize the formation oft he Rhine Falls:

200 000 years ago 

In consequence of globally cooling circa 500 000 years before the the Alpine glaciers forces up to the Swiss Plateau, therefore also to the area of today's Rhine Falls, and starts to sculpture the scenery significantly. The Rhine created north of the major glaciers of Schaffhausen in western direction through the Klettgau an early Rhine Valley, where he ran up to the beginning of the break ice age (approximately 200,000 years ago). Ensuing this valley was refilled with brash and morainal material.

120 000 years ago 

During the break ice age about 120 000 years ago of the Rhine by Schaffhausen was deflected by another edge of the ice to the south and generate the break-temporal Rhine draw. The river bed of the Rhine underneath the present Rhine Falls is equivalent to the westward part of the draw.

Since 15 000 years
The aggradation of the Rhine draw during the last ice age, the Würm glacial stage, had the consequence that the Rhine was forced in a wide sweep to the south. At the end of the last ice age, the Rhine by Schaffhausen flowed into an new river bed. In the course of time this new section of the Rhine approached his old, low situated, with gravel restocked course. In that moment when these two stream courses of the rivers got in contact, the waters of the Rhine was able to release the previous course from the gravel replenishment and afterwards flowed back again in the break ice age draw further. The country levels, which is loctated between the two river courses - the present Rhine Falls - consists of significant harder Malmkalk and consequently couldn’t be fixated.

​Today
It can be assumed that the Rhine has eroded 15 000 years ago the gravel relatively prompt in the draw and collided the entire width of 150 m almost vertically into the Kolk. Across the gradual retrogressive erosion in the Malmkalk the Rhine created the present shape of the waterfall. In the future the Rhine Falls will be dead slowly a cataract because of the retrogressive erosion.