Gulfoss Iceland - Sarada's travelogue
Gullfoss
(Golden Waterfall) is an iconic waterfall of Iceland offering a spectacular
view of the forces and beauty of untouched nature. Gullfoss is part of the
Golden Circle tour, located in South Iceland on the Hvítá (White) river which
is fed by Iceland´s second biggest glacier, the Langjökull. The water plummets
down 32 meters in two stages into a rugged canyon which walls reach up to 70
meters in height. On a sunny day shimmering rainbow can be seen over the falls.
The wide 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 140 cubic metres (4,900 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.
Gullfoss
is more than just a pretty waterfall, it has a story to tell. In the early 20th
century foreign investors wanted to harness the power of Gullfoss to produce
electricity. In 1907 Howells, an Englishman wanted to buy Gullfoss from Tómas
Tómasson, a farmer who owned Gullfoss at this time. Tómas declined Howells´
offer to buy the waterfall but later he leased it to him. The farmer´s
daughter, Sigriður Tómasdóttir who grew up on his father´s sheep farm sought to
have the rental contract voided. Sigriður using her own saving hired a lawyer
in Reykjavik to defend her case. The trial lasted years and Sigriður went
several times barefoot on traitorous terrain to Reykjavik to follow up on her
case. She even threatened to throw herself into the waterfall if the
construction would begin. Her attempts failed in court but before any damage
was done to the waterfall the contract was disposed due to the lack of payments
of the rent fee. The struggles of Sigriður to preserve the waterfall brought to
people´s attention the importance of preserving nature and therefore she is
often called Iceland´s first environmentalist.
In 1940
the adopted son of Sigriður acquired the waterfall from Sigriður´s father and
later sold it to the Icelandic government. Gullfoss and its environs was
designated as nature reserve in 1979 to permanently protect the waterfall and
allow the public to enjoy this unique area.
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