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Gullfoss "Golden Falls" is a waterfall located in the canyon of Hvítá river in southwest Iceland. The river plunges in two stages (11 m and 21 m) into a crevice 32 m deep. The crevice, about 20 m wide, and 2.5 km in length, extends perpendicular to the flow of the river. The average amount of water running over this waterfall is 140 m³/s in the summertime and 80 m³/s in the wintertime. The highest flood measured was 2000 m³/s.
Gullfoss, også på islandsk kalt Gullfoss, er en fredet foss i den sørvestlige delen av Island, 120 km nordøst for Reykjavík. Fossen dannes av elva Hvítá og har en høyde på 32 meter, fordelt på to fall. Det øverste har et fall på 11 meter og det som er litt lenger nede har et fall på 21 meter. Nedenfor fossen er juvet over 70 meter dypt. Gullfoss er en av de flotteste fossene på Island og en betydelig turistattraksjon.
Gullfoss is actually two separate waterfalls, the upper one has a drop of 11 metres and the lower one 21 metres. The rock of the river bed was formed during an interglacial period.
Water flows over Gullfoss at an average rate of 109 cubic metres per second. The heaviest floods have recorded a flow of 2000 cubic metres per second. During the summer the flow is 130 cubic metres per second. People were eager to exploit the power potential of Gullfoss and many plans for hydroelectric developments on the river Hvítá have been proposed.
The wide river Hvítá rushes southward and about a kilometer above the falls it turns sharply to the right and flows down into a wide curved three-step "staircase" and then abruptly plunges in two stages (11 m and 21 m) into a crevice 32 m deep. This is absolutely stunning view!
Gullfoss ("Golden Falls"; About this soundIcelandic pronunciation (help·info) [ˈkʏtl̥ˌfɔsː]) is a waterfall located in the canyon of the Hvítá river in southwest Iceland.
History and description[edit]
File:Gullfoss Iceland.ogv
Gullfoss in August 2013
The falls in winter
The Hvítá river flows southward, and about a kilometre above the falls it turns sharply to the right and flows down into a wide curved three-step "staircase" and then abruptly plunges in two stages (11 metres or 36 feet, and 21 metres or 69 feet) into a crevice 32 metres (105 ft) deep. The crevice, about 20 metres (66 ft) wide and 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) in length, extends perpendicular to the flow of the river. The average amount of water running down the waterfall is 141 cubic metres (5,000 cu ft) per second in the summer and 80 cubic metres (2,800 cu ft) per second in the winter. The highest flood measured was 2,000 cubic metres (71,000 cu ft) 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, 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.[citation needed] 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 and the geysers of Haukadalur, 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 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. Gullfoss features in the music video for the single "Heaven" by the band Live. Gullfoss appears briefly in the TV series Vikings, in a side arc in Iceland. The waterfall appears near the beginning of “The Bible: In the Beginning…”.
In the third season of the animated TV series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, in the episode “Sokka’s Master”, the character Sokka learns to sword fight by the Fire Nation swordsmaster, Piandao. In one scene of the episode, Piandao takes Sokka to a waterfall which was based on Gullfoss Waterfall.
Gullfoss (English: Golden Falls) is a waterfall located in the canyon of Hvítá river in southwest Iceland.
Gullfoss ("Golden Falls"; About this soundIcelandic pronunciation (help·info) [ˈkʏtl̥ˌfɔsː]) is a waterfall located in the canyon of the Hvítá river in southwest Iceland.
History and description[edit]
File:Gullfoss Iceland.ogv
Gullfoss in August 2013
The falls in winter
The Hvítá river flows southward, and about a kilometre above the falls it turns sharply to the right and flows down into a wide curved three-step "staircase" and then abruptly plunges in two stages (11 metres or 36 feet, and 21 metres or 69 feet) into a crevice 32 metres (105 ft) deep. The crevice, about 20 metres (66 ft) wide and 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) in length, extends perpendicular to the flow of the river. The average amount of water running down the waterfall is 141 cubic metres (5,000 cu ft) per second in the summer and 80 cubic metres (2,800 cu ft) per second in the winter. The highest flood measured was 2,000 cubic metres (71,000 cu ft) 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, 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.[citation needed] 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 and the geysers of Haukadalur, 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 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. Gullfoss features in the music video for the single "Heaven" by the band Live. Gullfoss appears briefly in the TV series Vikings, in a side arc in Iceland. The waterfall appears near the beginning of “The Bible: In the Beginning…”.
In the third season of the animated TV series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, in the episode “Sokka’s Master”, the character Sokka learns to sword fight by the Fire Nation swordsmaster, Piandao. In one scene of the episode, Piandao takes Sokka to a waterfall which was based on Gullfoss Waterfall.
Der Gullfoss (isl. gull = „Gold“, foss = „Wasserfall“) ist ein Wasserfall des Flusses Hvítá im Haukadalur im Süden Islands.
Seine durchschnittliche Wasserführung beträgt etwa 109 m³/s, im Sommer etwa 130 m³/s. Der größte bisher gemessene Abfluss betrug 2000 m³/s.
Der Wasserfall besteht aus zwei Stufen, von denen die erste 11 m und die zweite 21 m Höhe besitzt. Diese beiden Kaskaden stehen etwa rechtwinklig zueinander.
Von der zweiten Stufe stürzt das Wasser in eine Schlucht, die vom Wasserfall bis zur Verbreiterung zum Tal 2,5 km lang ist und eine Tiefe von 70 Metern erreicht. Die Wasser der Hvítá und nicht zuletzt die bisweilen auftretenden Gletscherläufe haben diese Schlucht seit der Eiszeit vor 10.000 Jahren um durchschnittlich 25 cm im Jahr ausgefräst.
Zwei Gletscherläufe im 20. Jahrhundert sind bekannt, 1930 und 1948. Bei diesen wurde die Schlucht völlig mit Wasser gefüllt, so dass die niedrigere Wasserfallstufe zeitweilig darunter verschwand.
Gullfoss is actually two separate waterfalls, the upper one has a drop of 11 m (36 ft) and the lower one 21 m (69 ft). The lower one appears to disappear into the earth, but it obviously goes into the lower river bed. The falls are an example of a waterfall forming where the water has followed a fissure in the lava and carved a passageway through it. It is known as Golden Falls since, on a sunny day, the water plunging down the rapids and then falling in two steps down into the 32 m (105 ft) deep crevice has a golden colour. At one time the government planned to use the falls for large hydroelectric development but the story goes that the scheme was thwarted when a farmer’s daughter, Sigríður Tómasdóttir, threatened to throw herself into the falls if that happened.