Hällingsåfallet is a waterfall and a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

Jämtland County Jämtland County ( sv, Jämtlands län, ) is a county or ''län'' in the middle of Sweden consisting of the provinces of Jämtland and Härjedalen, along with minor parts of Hälsingland and Ångermanland, plus two small uninhabited strips of ...

in Sweden. It is part of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

-wide Natura 2000 network.

Geography

The nature reserve is centred on Hällingsåfallet waterfall and the river canyon into which it discharges. The nature reserve is located at an altitude of around to above the sea level, and the waterfall itself is high. The canyon into which it falls is circa long, making it the longest in Sweden, and between and wide. The canyon was probably not formed by the current stream running there, but rather during the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

, when the melting ice eroded what was already a crack in the bedrock here. However, it cannot be excluded that the canyon is even older.

Flora

The moisture evaporating from the stream as it cascades through the fall has generated an unusual, very wet environment which is a good habitat for several types of

Cryptogam A cryptogam (scientific name Cryptogamae) is a plant (in the wide sense of the word) or a plant-like organism that reproduces by spores, without flowers or seeds. The name ''Cryptogamae'' () means "hidden reproduction", referring to the fact ...

ae. Because of the extensive use of

hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a w ...

in Sweden, this kind of environment is today very unusual in the country. The purpose of the nature reserve is to protect this biotope. It contains several species of moss and lichen deemed to be in need of protection within Sweden, including '' Cavernularia hultenii'', '' Cololejeunea calcarea'', '' Fuscopannaria confusa'' and '' Lobaria hallii'' (the latter being known from only eight locales in Sweden, including Hällingsåfallet). It also includes threatened

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

such as '' Pseudographis pinicola'' and ''

Neolecta vitellina ''Neolecta vitellina'' is a species of fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organis ...

''. The forest surrounding the waterfall and the canyon (and which is also under protection) is a circa 150-year-old mixed

coniferous forest Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All exta ...

dominated by spruce and with the occasional even older tree. Apart from the aforementioned great variety of fungi, moss and lichen, the moist forest also contain the

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...

species ''

Dactylorhiza maculata ''Dactylorhiza maculata'', known as the heath spotted-orchid or moorland spotted orchid, is an herbaceous perennial plant of the family Orchidaceae. It is widespread in mountainous regions across much of Europe from Portugal and Iceland east to R ...

'' and other unusual plants such as

northern wolfsbane ''Aconitum lycoctonum'' (wolf's-bane or northern wolf's-bane) is a species of flowering plant in the genus '' Aconitum'', of the family Ranunculaceae, native to much of Europe and northern Asia.Flora Europaea''Aconitum lycoctonum''/ref> It is fo ...

, Alpine snow-thistle and velvetbells. The bird-life of the area has also been described as "interesting"; species found here are

grey wagtail The grey wagtail (''Motacilla cinerea'') is a member of the wagtail family, Motacillidae, measuring around 18–19 cm overall length. The species looks somewhat similar to the yellow wagtail but has the yellow on its underside restricted to ...

white-throated dipper The white-throated dipper (''Cinclus cinclus''), also known as the European dipper or just dipper, is an aquatic passerine bird found in Europe, Middle East, Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. The species is divided into several subspec ...

, merlin and

rough-legged buzzard The rough-legged buzzard or rough-legged hawk (''Buteo lagopus'') is a medium-large bird of prey. It is found in Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America, Europe, and Russia during the breeding season and migrates south for the winter. It ...

. For the convenience of visitors, a long path has been created from a nearby parking lot, and amenities such as

outhouse An outhouse is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket toilet, but other forms of dry (non-flushing) toilets may be encountered. The term may also be used ...

s and a simple shelter have been built. The path and one outhouse is accessible also for the

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...

References

External links

Länsstyrelsens Natura 2000 Bevarandeplan

Euroturism
Nature reserves in Sweden Waterfalls of Sweden Natura 2000 in Sweden {{Protected areas in Jämtland County