Goðafoss
Encyclopedia
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
s in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. It is located in the Mývatn
Mývatn
Mývatn is a shallow eutrophic lake situated in an area of active volcanism in the north of Iceland, not far from Krafla volcano. The lake and its surrounding wetlands have an exceptionally rich fauna of waterbirds, especially ducks...
district of North-Central Iceland at the beginning of the Sprengisandur
Sprengisandur
Sprengisandur is a highland gravel road in Iceland, running between the glaciers Hofsjökull and Vatnajökull. The name also refers to the highland region surrounding the road....
highland road. The water of the river Skjálfandafljót
Skjálfandafljót
The River Skjálfandafljót is situated in the north of Iceland.It has its source at the northwestern border of the icecap Vatnajökull on the Highlands of Iceland...
falls from a height of 12 meters over a width of 30 meters.
In the year 999 or 1000 the Lawspeaker
Lawspeaker
A lawspeaker is a unique Scandinavian legal office. It has its basis in a common Germanic oral tradition, where wise men were asked to recite the law, but it was only in Scandinavia that the function evolved into an office...
Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði made Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
the official religion of Iceland. After his conversion it is said that upon returning from the Alþingi, Þorgeir threw his statues of the Norse gods into the waterfall. Þorgeir's story is preserved in Ari Þorgilsson
Ari Þorgilsson
Ari Þorgilsson was Iceland's most prominent medieval chronicler. He is the author of Íslendingabók, which details the histories of the various families who settled Iceland...
's Íslendingabók
Íslendingabók
Íslendingabók, Libellus Islandorum or The Book of Icelanders is an historical work dealing with early Icelandic history. The author was an Icelandic priest, Ari Þorgilsson, working in the early 12th century. The work originally existed in two different versions but only the younger one has come...
.
A window in the Cathedral of Akureyri
Akureyri
Akureyri is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's second largest urban area and fourth largest municipality ....
(Akureyrarkirkja) illustrates this story.
Named after the waterfall was MS Goðafoss, an Icelandic ship carrying both freight and passengers, that was sunk by a German U-Boat in World War II, resulting in great loss of lives.