Gullfoss ("Golden Falls"; ) is a

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

located in the

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

of the Hvítá river in southwest

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

History and description

The Hvítá river flows southward, and about a kilometre above the falls it turns sharply to the west and flows down into a wide curved three-step "staircase" and then abruptly plunges in two stages (, and ) into a crevice deep. The crevice, about wide and in length, extends perpendicular to the flow of the river. The average amount of water running down the waterfall is per second in the summer and per second in the winter. The highest flood measured was per second. During the first half of the 20th century and some years into the late 20th century, there was much speculation about using Gullfoss to generate electricity. During this period, the waterfall was rented indirectly by its owners, Tómas Tómasson and Halldór Halldórsson, to foreign investors. However, the investors' attempts were unsuccessful, partly due to lack of money. The waterfall was later sold to the state of Iceland, and is now protected.

Sigríður Tómasdóttir Sigríður Tómasdóttir (1871–1957) was an Icelandic environmentalist whose activism helped preserve Gullfoss waterfalls, protecting it from industrialization. She is widely seen as Iceland's first environmentalist and is memorialized on a sc ...

, the daughter of Tómas Tómasson, was determined to preserve the waterfall's condition and even threatened to throw herself down. Although it is widely believed, the very popular story that Sigríður saved the waterfall from exploitation is untrue. A stone memorial to Sigriður, located above the falls, depicts her profile. Gullfoss is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Iceland. Together with

Þingvellir Þingvellir (, anglicised as ThingvellirThe spelling ''Pingvellir'' is sometimes seen, although the letter "p" is unrelated to the letter "þ" (thorn), which is pronounced as "th".) was the site of the Alþing, the annual parliament of Iceland f ...

and the

geyser A geyser (, ) is a spring characterized by an intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam. As a fairly rare phenomenon, the formation of geysers is due to particular hydrogeological conditions that exist only in ...

s of

Haukadalur Haukadalur ( Icelandic: , from non, Haukadalr , "hawk dale" or "valley of hawks") is a valley in Iceland. It lies to the north of Laugarvatn lake in the south of Iceland. Geysers Haukadalur is home to some of the best known sights in Iceland: t ...

, Gullfoss forms part of the Golden Circle, a popular day excursion for tourists in Iceland.

In popular culture

Gullfoss appears on the cover of the album ''

Porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...

'' by the British band Echo and the Bunnymen. Additionally, the falls are referenced in the novella ''The Odd Saga of the American and a Curious Icelandic Flock''; during a dinner, Snorri expresses a preference for Gullfoss, while Dr. Gustafsson favors

Glymur Glymur () is the second-highest waterfall in Iceland, with a cascade of 198 m. It was long regarded as the tallest until being surpassed by Morsárfoss, a newly measured waterfall near Morsárjökull in 2011. It is situated at the rear end of th ...

. Gullfoss features in the music video for the single "

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

" by the band

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

. Gullfoss appears briefly in a sub-plot of the TV series ''Vikings'', and one character kills herself by diving into it. Gullfoss appears in the penultimate episode of the thirty-fourth season of the American reality competition ''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...

''.

References

External links

The Official Gullfoss website

Live webcam located at GullfossGullfoss GalleryGullfoss.org Information and photos of Gullfoss
{{Authority control Articles containing video clips Canyons and gorges of Iceland Tourist attractions in Iceland Waterfalls of Iceland

History and description

In popular culture

See also

References

External links