Waterfalls of Iceland
Encyclopedia
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...
is unusually suited for waterfall
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. This small island country has a north Atlantic climate that produces frequent rain or snow and a near-Arctic location that produces large glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s, whose summer melts feed many rivers. As a result, it is home to a number of large and powerful waterfalls, including:
North
- DettifossDettifossDettifoss is a waterfall in Vatnajökull National Park in Northeast Iceland, and is reputed to be the most powerful waterfall in Europe.It is situated on the Jökulsá á Fjöllum river, which flows from the Vatnajökull glacier and collects water from a large area in Northeast Iceland. The falls are 100...
is the most powerful waterfall in EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. - SelfossSelfoss (waterfall)Selfoss is a waterfall in the river Jökulsá á Fjöllum in the north of Iceland which drops over some waterfalls about 30 km before flowing into Öxarfjörður, a bay of the Arctic Sea....
- HafragilsfossHafragilsfossHafragilsfoss is a waterfall in Iceland.The waterfall flows downstream from Dettifoss within the depths of the Jökulságljúfur canyon. This waterfall is also on the glacial river Jökulsá á Fjöllum, making it a powerful waterfall...
- GoðafossGoðafossthumb|200px|Goðafoss seen from the Eastern bank in summerthumb|200px|Goðafoss in winterThe Goðafoss is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Iceland. It is located in the Mývatn district of North-Central Iceland at the beginning of the Sprengisandur highland road...
- AldeyjarfossAldeyjarfossThe Aldeyjarfoss waterfall is situated in the north of Iceland at the northern part of the Sprengisandur Highland Road which means it is to be found within the Highlands of Iceland....
South
- FaxiFaxiThe Faxi waterfall is located on the Golden Circle, a popular tourist trail east of Reykjavik. The waterfall is located on the Tungufljót river....
or Vatnsleysufoss in Tungufljót river - GjáinGjáinLike the Háifoss, the small valley Gjáin with its small waterfalls, ponds, and volcanic structures is situated in the south of Iceland. It is to be found at about half an hour walking distance from the historical farm Stöng....
has many small waterfalls - GullfossGullfossGullfoss is a waterfall located in the canyon of Hvítá river in southwest Iceland.Gullfoss is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country. The wide Hvítá rushes southward...
(Golden Falls) - HáifossHáifossThe waterfall Háifoss is situated near the volcano Hekla in the south of Iceland. The river Fossá, a tributary of Þjórsá, drops here from a height of 122 m...
(High Falls) - HjálparfossHjálparfossHjálparfoss is one of several waterfalls in the south of Iceland situated in the lava fields north of the stratovolcano Hekla near the point where the rivers Fossá and Þjórsá join. Hjálparfoss is located about east of the village Flúðir and can be reached by a gravel road off Route 32 that winds...
- ÓfærufossÓfærufossÓfærufoss is a waterfall situated in the Eldgjá chasm in central Iceland. Until the early 1990s a natural bridge spanned the falls, but it collapsed from natural causes....
used to be noted for the impressive natural bridgeNatural archA natural arch or natural bridge is a natural geological formation where a rock arch forms, with an opening underneath. Most natural arches form as a narrow ridge, walled by cliffs, become narrower from erosion, with a softer rock stratum under the cliff-forming stratum gradually eroding out until...
which stood above the falls, but it collapsed in 1993. - SeljalandsfossSeljalandsfossSeljalandsfoss is one of the most famous waterfalls of Iceland. It is very picturesque and therefore its photo can be found in many books and calendars...
- GljufrafossGljufrafossGljufrafoss is a small waterfall north of the larger falls of Seljalandsfoss in Iceland. The falls are partially obscured by the cliff rock, and a winding trail and wooden ladder enable sightseers to climb roughly half-way up and view the falls....
- SkógafossSkógafossSkógafoss is a waterfall situated in the south of Iceland at the cliffs of the former coastline. After the coastline had receded seaward , the former sea cliffs remained, parallel to the coast over hundreds of kilometres, creating together with some mountains a clear border between the coastal...
(Forest Falls) - SvartifossSvartifossSvartifoss is a waterfall in Skaftafell National Park in Iceland, and is one of the most popular sights in the park. It is surrounded by dark lava columns, which give rise to its name. The hexagonal columns were formed inside a lava flow which cooled extremely slowly, giving rise to...
(Black Falls) is one of the many waterfalls of SkaftafellSkaftafellSkaftafell is a preservation area in Öræfi, southeast Iceland. It used to be a manor farm and a national park, but has been a part of Vatnajökull National Park since its establishment in 2008.- History of habitation :...
National Park, It's beautifully surrounded by basaltBasaltBasalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
columns. - Systrafoss, in KirkjubæjarklausturKirkjubæjarklausturThe village Kirkjubæjarklaustur is a village in the south of Iceland on the hringvegur between Vík í Mýrdal and Höfn. It is part of the municipality of Skaftárhreppur with approximately 120 inhabitants.-Location:...
- ÞjófafossÞjófafossÞjófafoss is located on the river Þjórsá on the east side of the Merkurhraun lava fields in the south of Iceland, at the southwest tip of the hill Búrfell...
on the Merkurhraun lava fields - Öxaráfoss, at ÞingvellirÞingvellir|Thing]] Fields) is a place in Bláskógabyggð in southwestern Iceland, near the peninsula of Reykjanes and the Hengill volcanic area. Þingvellir is a site of historical, cultural, and geological importance and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland. It is the site of a rift...
National Park - FagrifossFagrifossFagrifoss is waterfall situated in Southeast Iceland near the Lakagígar region. It is located along the 4x4 road F206 approximately from Kirkjubæjarklaustur and from Laki. Access to the waterfall requires the crossing of a river ford, for which a 4x4 vehicle is needed.-See also:Waterfalls of...
, near KirkjubæjarklausturKirkjubæjarklausturThe village Kirkjubæjarklaustur is a village in the south of Iceland on the hringvegur between Vík í Mýrdal and Höfn. It is part of the municipality of Skaftárhreppur with approximately 120 inhabitants.-Location:...
West
- BarnafossarBarnafossarBarnafossar is also known as Bjarnafossar, which was its previous name. Barnafoss is near Hraunfossar which burst out of Hallmundarhraun which is a great lava plain. Barnafossar is a waterfall in Western Iceland, about from Reykjavík. Barnafoss is on the river Hvita in Borgarfjordur...
(the Children's Falls) in HvítáHvítáHvítá is a river whose source is in the glacier lake Hvítárvatn at Langjökull glacier in the highlands of Iceland at . The river flows for 40 km before dropping down into a narrow gorge at the waterfall Gullfoss....
river - GlymurGlymurThe waterfall Glymur, with a cascade of 196 m, is the highest waterfall of Iceland.It is situated at the rear end of the Hvalfjörður. Since the opening of the tunnel under this fjord, most people bypass the area...
in the HvalfjörðurHvalfjörðurHvalfjörður is situated in the west of Iceland between Mosfellsbær and Akranes. The fjord is approximately 30 km long and 5 km wide....
area. At 198 m it's said to be one of the tallest waterfalls in Europe. - HraunfossarHraunfossarHraunfossar is a series of waterfalls formed by rivulets streaming over a distance of about 900 meters out of the Hallmundarhraun, a lava field which flowed from an eruption of one of the volcanoes lying under the glacier Langjökull. The waterfalls pour into the Hvítá river from ledges of less...
(the Lava Falls) in birchBirchBirch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
woods, a stone's throw from Barnafoss.
External links
- Group for Icelandic waterfalls at FlickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
- Photo of Hangifoss
- Photo of Goðafoss
- Photos of Waterfalls in Iceland
- Pictures Waterfalls in Iceland
- South Coast Iceland Waterfalls
- Iceland Waterfalls
- Images of Icelandic Waterfalls
- Photos of Skogafoss waterfall, Iceland
- Waterfall tours, Iceland