Podgórna Falls (pronounced: ; ; ) is a cascade

waterfall A waterfall is any 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 seve ...

located on the Podgórna Stream in the

Giant Mountains The Giant Mountains, Krkonoše, or Karkonosze (Czech: , , ), are a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland, part of the Sudetes mountain system (part of the Bohemian Massif). The Czech–Polish bor ...

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a historical and geographical region mostly located in Poland with small portions in the Czech Republic and Germany. It is the western part of the region of Silesia. Its largest city is Wrocław. The first ...

, Poland, dropping a total of .

Description and history

Podgórna Falls is located at above sea level and is around 10 meters high, which makes it the third highest waterfall in the Polish part of the

. The water from the Podgórna Stream flows from the spring between

Mały Szyszak Mały Szyszak (, , , , ) is a mountain on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. It is situated in the central part of the main mountain range of the Giant Mountains, right above the villages Przesieka, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Prze ...

and Mount Tępy Szczyt. It falls down a 10-meter rocky ledge in two cascades into a

plunge pool A plunge pool (or plunge basin or waterfall lake) is a deep depression in a stream bed at the base of a waterfall or Shut-in (river), shut-in. It is created by the erosion, erosional forces of cascading water on the rocks at the formation's bas ...

. On both sides of the waterfall, there are granite cliffs reaching the heights of up to 15 meters. A tourist trail from Przesieka to Sosnówka is located next to Podgórna Falls. The falls and its surroundings have been designated a

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

and constitute a special buffer zone (Polish: ''otulina'') of the

Karkonosze National Park Giant Mountains National Park () is a National Park in the Giant Mountains in the Sudetes in southwestern Poland, along the border with the Czech Republic. The national park is located in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in the highest part of the Sud ...

. In the past, an inn was located near the waterfall, which no longer exists. In 2007, there were plans to build a small

hydroelectric power plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

on the Podgórna Stream, which would deprive the waterfall of 70% of water. After receiving initial approval from the local authorities, the plans were scrapped later in the year.

Gallery

File:Podgorna Waterfall Old 01.jpg, An early 20th-century German postcard depicting the waterfall. File:Wodospad Podgórnej, Karkonosze.jpg, Podgórna Falls in winter

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Podgorna Falls Cascade waterfalls Landforms of Lower Silesian Voivodeship Sudetes Waterfalls of Poland Tourist attractions in Lower Silesian Voivodeship

Description and history

Gallery

See also

References