Located in the Canyon of Hvita River or the White River, in southwest Iceland, Gullfoss Waterfall is one of the most interesting tourist attractions in this country. The Waterfall is also known as the Golden Fall because of the golden hue of the water at sunset.
The waterfall offer a spectacular view of the forces and beauty of untouched nature, in which water tumbles and plunges into a crevice some 32 m deep. The crevice is obscured from view, so that it appears that a mighty river simply vanishes into the earth. Declared as the largest waterfall complex in Europe, Gullfoss is fed my the Hvítá river which runs from the central Iceland glaciers.
The Hvita River has three large steps ending at the spectacular Gullfoss falls. Gullfoss Waterfalls are two separate falls, one above the other. The first 11 metre drop in the waterfall is followed by another drop of 21 metres. These two falls are positioned at right angles from each other. The final drop is into a magnificent crevice, 32 metres deep.
In the early 20th century foreign investors wanted to harness the power of Gullfoss to produce electricity, but 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 Hvítá, which would have changed the waterfall forever. This was not done, and now the waterfall is protected.
The access on the falls is limited to a path which runs down the side. There are also higher view-points. There are pathways to gain access to better angles, but these have been closed for safety reasons.
A.I.
