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Svartifoss

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Also known as Basalt Waterfall, Black Fall

Svartifoss (Icelandic for "black waterfall", ) is a waterfall in Skaftafell in Vatnajökull National Park in Iceland, and is one of the most popular sights in the park. It is surrounded by dark lava columns, which gave rise to its name. The base of this waterfall is noteworthy for its sharp rocks. New hexagonal column sections break off faster than the falling water wears down the edges.

Key facts

Waterfall.name
Svartifoss
Waterfall.photo
SvartifossWinter.jpg
Waterfall.location
South of Iceland
Waterfall.map
Iceland
Waterfall.height
20m
Waterfall.number_drops
1

via Wikipedia infobox

~2 min read

Encyclopedic overview

5 sections
Contents
  • Geology
  • Gallery
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

Svartifoss (Icelandic for "black waterfall", ) is a waterfall in Skaftafell in Vatnajökull National Park in Iceland, and is one of the most popular sights in the park. It is surrounded by dark lava columns, which gave rise to its name. The base of this waterfall is noteworthy for its sharp rocks. New hexagonal column sections break off faster than the falling water wears down the edges.

These basalt columns have provided inspiration for Icelandic architects, most visibly in the Hallgrímskirkja church in Reykjavík, and also the National Theatre.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Svartifoss” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

On the map

3 mapped locations