The most powerful waterfall in Europe: Dettifoss
There are no architectural sights, palaces and famous art museums on the island of Iceland. But every year hundreds of thousands of tourists come here to admire the landscapes of untouched northern nature, waterfalls and geysers, volcanoes and glaciers.
Dettifoss (the "bubbling waterfall") is not only the largest waterfall in Iceland, but also the most powerful in all of Europe! The average water flow here reaches 500 cubic meters per second, and in terms of the impression it makes, it is not much inferior to Niagara.
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1. Dettifoss waterfall is one of the biggest natural attractions in Iceland.
2. The most powerful waterfall in Europe is located in northeastern Iceland on the river with the unpronounceable name Jökulsau au Fjödlum, in the Jokulsargluvur National Park.
3. The width of the Dettifoss waterfall is about 100 meters, the height is 44 meters, which is 9 meters less than Niagara Falls.
4. The average water consumption of Dettifoss is 200 cubic meters per second, and sometimes it reaches 500.
5. The name Dettifoss (Dettifoss) means "bubbling waterfall", and this is completely true. It is also called "European Niagara". In fairness, it should be noted that the volume of falling water in the real Niagara reaches 5,700 or more cubic meters per second.
6. There are dark rocks all around, heaps of huge stones ... This gloomy, but atmospheric place is more like something alien, “alien”.
7. The river on which the waterfall is located is flooded with the melting ice of the Vantajokull glacier. The color of the water in the waterfall is brown-brown, which is unusual for Icelandic rivers.
8. The local environment is the driest in Iceland: around the dunes of black sand and desert plains. The only exception is the green oasis on the hillside on the west bank, where the spray from the waterfall falls, moistening the soil.
9. Standing at a waterfall, you can feel tremors under your feet, and the roar of water can even deafen you for a moment. No wonder the early Icelandic settlers referred to him as the "King of the Waterfalls".
10. With a certain wind direction, you can get wet to the skin from the spray. In addition, there is nothing to hold on to, and you will have to walk along the very edge of the high bank to the top of the waterfall, trying your luck and overcoming dizziness.
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12. The waterfall is featured in Ridley Scott's film Prometheus as one of the landscapes of prehistoric Earth. According to the film, it was here that life began to emerge on the planet.
13. The waterfall also inspired the Icelandic composer Jón Leifs to create the musical composition "Dettifoss".
14. Despite the fact that alternative energy is developed in Iceland, the most powerful waterfall in Europe is not used as a source of energy, since it is located on the territory of the National Park and is a natural asset of the country.
15. If you follow the riverbed, you can see several more waterfalls on Jökulsau au Fjödlum, the most significant of which is Selfoss, and the strikingly beautiful Lake Myvatn - “Mosquito Lake”.
16. By the way, it is worth noting that all the other more or less serious European waterfalls are also located in Iceland.
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19. Due to a thick cloud of spray, the bottom of the waterfall is not visible, but the stunning basalt columns that are found all the way on both sides of the river are clearly visible.
20. The best months for a trip to the waterfall are February, June, July, August and September.