The Krimml Waterfalls (german: Krimmler Wasserfälle), with a total height of 380 metres (1,247 feet), are the highest

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 ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. The falls are on the

Krimmler Ache The Krimmler Ache is a river in the Pinzgau region of the Austrian state of Salzburg, a right tributary of the Salzach at , Wald im Pinzgau. Its valley (the ) forms the boundary between the Zillertal Alps in the west and the Venediger Group in th ...

river and are located near the village of

Krimml Krimml is a municipality in Zell am See District, in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria, in the Pinzgau region. Geography Krimml is situated on the Salzach river, at the southwestern rim of the upper (western) ''Pinzgau'' region near the bord ...

in the

High Tauern National Park The High Tauern (plural, pl.; german: Hohe Tauern, it, Alti Tauri) are a mountain range on the Main chain of the Alps, main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern bor ...

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

state.

Falls

Krimmler Waterfalls is a tiered

. The waterfall begins at the top of the Krimmler Ache valley, and plunges downward in three stages. The upper stage has a drop of 140 metres, the middle of 100 metres, and the lowest a drop of 140 metres. The highest point of the waterfall is 1,470 metres above sea level.

Flow

The Krimmler Ache is a

glacial A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...

stream whose flow varies greatly with season. Its volumetric flow in June and July is 5.6 m³/s (about 5.28 million gallons per hour), while in February it is only 0.14 m³/s (about 0.13 million gallons per hour). The greatest measured flow was on 25 August 1987, when it was 166.7 m³/s, or almost 160 million gallons per hour. After the falls, the river joins the

Salzach The Salzach (Austrian: �saltsax ) is a river in Austria and Germany. It is in length and is a right tributary of the Inn, which eventually joins the Danube. Its drainage basin of comprises large parts of the Northern Limestone and Central E ...

, which flows to the

Inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

, then into the

River Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

and finally to the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

Tourism

To ensure that tourists could see more of the waterfall without difficulty, Ignaz von Kürsinger, from

Mittersill Mittersill ( bar, Mittasü) is a city in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria, in the Pinzgau region of the Alps. It is located on the Salzach River. It has a population of 5,408 as of 2011. Geography Mittersill lies approximately 25 km to the ...

, created a path to the upper part of the waterfall. In 1879, the

Austrian Alpine Club The Austrian Alpine Club (german: Österreichischer Alpenverein) has about 573,000 members in 196 sections and is the largest mountaineering organisation in Austria. It is responsible for the upkeep of over 234 alpine huts in Austria and neighbour ...

improved the road to provide a more panoramic view. About 400,000 people visit the falls annually. The misty spray of the waterfall creates ideal growth condition for hundreds of mosses, lichens and ferns. The surroundings are the habitat for 62 bird species.Krimmler Wasserfälle, leaflet obtainable at the Krimml Tourist information There is a negative impact on the local residents due to the high traffic level in a small village, and because of erosion to the road.

References

Information

* Slupetzky, Heinz and Johannes Wiesenegger. 1993. ''Vom Schnee, Eis, Schmelzwasser und Regen zum Gletscherbach – Hydrologie der Krimmler Ache'' In: Krimmler Wasserfälle, Festschrift 25 Jahre Europäisches Naturschutzdiplom 1967-1992, Innsbruck Austria. From snow, ice, melt-water and rain to glacial stream - Hydrology of the Krimmler Ache"* Stocker, Erich. 1993. ''Zur Geomorphologie der Krimmler Wasserfälle'' In: Krimmler Wasserfälle, Festschrift 25 Jahre Europäisches Naturschutzdiplom 1967-1992, Innsbruck Austria. On the geomorphology of the Krimmler Wasserfälle"

External links

Krimmler Wasserfälle web-site
(in English)

(in German)
Krimmler Wasserfalle stats on World Waterfall DatabasePictures and travel information on European waterfalls (in English)
{{Authority control Waterfalls of Austria Landforms of Salzburg (state) Venediger Group Tourist attractions in Salzburg (state)