Pictures of Gullfoss Falls
This section of our waterfall pictures website features beautiful pictures of Gullfoss Falls. Gullfoss Falls is a popular destination for nature lovers, tourists in general, and people who just love waterfalls.
These pictures of Gullfoss Falls let you see Gullfoss Falls from several different angles, and they give you a good idea of what to expect when visiting Gullfoss Falls.
Detailed information on Gullfoss Falls can be found below the pictures on this page.
To view the pictures of Gullfoss Falls in full size, just click on the pictures.
Here is some detailed information on Gulfoss Falls
Gullfoss also known as "golden falls" in English, is a waterfall located in the canyon of Hvíta river in southwest Iceland.
Gullfoss is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country. The wide Hvíta rushes southward. About a kilometer above the falls it turns sharply to the left 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 (105 ft) deep. The crevice, about 20 m (60 ft) wide, and 2.5 km in length, is at right angles to the flow of the river. The average amount of water running over this waterfall is 140 cubic meters per second in the summertime and 80 cubic meters per second in the wintertime. The highest flood measured was 2000 cubic meters per second
As one first approaches the falls, the crevice is obscured from view, so that it appears that a mighty river simply vanishes into the earth.
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, Tomas Tomasson and Halldor Halldorsson, 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. Even after it was sold, there were plans to utilize Hvíta, which would have changed the waterfall forever. This was not done, and now the waterfall is protected.
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