Glenmacnass Waterfall

Glenmacnass Waterfall () is an 80-metre high waterfall situated at the head of the Glenmacnass Valley in the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. The Glenmacnass Waterfall is a popular tourist destination and scenic viewpoint area in the Wicklow Mountains. The Waterfall is bounded to the west by Tonelagee, and to the east by Scarr mountain. The entire Glenmacnass Valley can be accessed by the R115 road (also called the ''Military Road''), which connects the Sally Gap in the north, to the village of Laragh in the south.

Geography

The Glenmacnass River begins high up on the southeast slopes of Mullaghcleevaun , with smaller tributaries flowing in from the eastern slopes of Tonelagee ; the river then reaches the top of the waterfall at an elevation of above sea-level, where it falls down the waterfall in 3 staggered drops to an elevation of above sea-level, where it reaches the Glenmacnass Valley floor.

The river continues through the U-shaped valley until it joins the Avonmore River () at the village of Laragh. It is later joined by the Avonbeg () to become the Avoca and eventually flows into the Irish Sea at the coastal town called Arklow.

Geology

Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) regard the valley as a "stunning example of a glaciated U-shaped valley, with oversteepened cliff sides and a flat floor". The valley dates from the last glacial period called the quaternary glaciation or Ice Age, and contains moraines marking the positions of the ice-front as it retreated back towards the source area higher up in the centre of the Wicklow mountains. The GSI highlight an impressive moraine about halfway between the waterfall and Laragh and can be seen as a boulder-strewn mound running right across the valley.

Glenmacnass Waterfall flows over grey-colored, smooth porphyritic granite bedrock (part of the Lugnaquilla