Dettifoss
Dettifoss is a waterfall, at a modelled elevation of 354 m. Búrfell stands 953 m to the south-southwest, 20 miles off. The nearest named place is Dettifoss, Selfoss og Hafragilsfoss, a nature reserve 0.3 miles away. Ring Road passes 11 miles off.
The story
Dettifoss (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈtɛhtɪˌfɔsː] ) is a waterfall in Vatnajökull National Park in Northeast Iceland, and is reputed to be the second most powerful waterfall in Europe after the Rhine Falls. Dettifoss is situated on the Jökulsá á Fjöllum river, which flows from the Vatnajökull glacier and collects water from a large area in Northeast Iceland. The sediment-rich runoff colours the water a greyish white. The falls are 100 metres (330 ft) wide and have a drop of 44 metres (144 ft) down to the canyon Jökulsárgljúfur. It is the second largest waterfall in Iceland in terms of volume discharge (behind the Urriðafoss), having an average water flow of 193 m³/s. The superlative of "most powerful" comes from its water flow multiplied by its fall distance. In Icelandic, the name derives from detta ("fall" or "collapse") and foss ("waterfall").
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q210280, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Height
- 45 m
- Width
- 100 m
What to expect
- Step-free access
- No
How to reach it
- 11.2 mi off the Ring Road
Named places within 25 miles
- Glöppa: 6.9 mi
- Kallbjarg: 8.0 mi
- Karl og Kerling: 8.7 mi
- Hljóðaklettar: 9.9 mi
- Botnstjörn: 13.2 mi
- Dettifoss, Selfoss og Hafragilsfoss: 0.3 mi
- Hellar á Þeistareykjum: 19.5 mi
- Hverfjall: 20.0 mi
- Dimmuborgir: 21.4 mi
- Selfoss: 0.7 mi
- Hafragilsfoss: 1.3 mi
- Réttarfoss: 4.7 mi
- Hólmárfossar: 5.9 mi
- Trölliđ: 9.4 mi
- Eyjan: 14.5 mi
- Eyjan: 14.5 mi
- Eyjan: 14.9 mi
- Fagridalur: 9.5 mi
- Hallgrímur og Ólafía: 20.1 mi
- Skútustaðagígar: 24.8 mi
- Kröflustöð: 13.5 mi
- Fuglasafn Sigurgeirs: 21.6 mi
- Lindin: 13.3 mi
- Gróður jarðar: 20.3 mi
- Þórsmörk: 22.7 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 20.1 miles of Dettifoss. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Búrfell | SSW 202° | 953 m | 19.6 mi |
| Haugsnibba | ESE 112° | 930 m | 17.5 mi |
| Jónstindur | WSW 259° | 883 m | 14.7 mi |
| Grímsstaðakerling | SE 131° | 859 m | 18.1 mi |
| Krafla | SW 235° | 818 m | 12.0 mi |
| Gagndagahnjúkur | NE 42° | 816 m | 13.6 mi |
| Jörundur | SW 221° | 808 m | 11.4 mi |
| Hólskerling | ESE 123° | 801 m | 15.7 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:08 | 18:13 | 19:20 |
| June solstice | Midnight sun | — | — |
| September equinox | 06:48 | 18:03 | 19:11 |
| December solstice | 11:36 | — | 14:33 |
Local time (Atlantic/Reykjavik).
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/571990614
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