June 17, 2012 at 9:56 pm

Picture of the Day: The Largest Waterfall in Europe

by twistedsifter

 

THE LARGEST WATERFALL IN EUROPE

 

man standing next to Dettifoss waterfall in vatnajokull national park iceland the largest waterfall in europe

Photograph by Tim Bekaert

 

Dettifoss is a waterfall in Vatnajokull National Park in Northeast Iceland, and is reputed to be the most powerful waterfall in Europe [Source]. It is situated on the Jokulsa a Fjollum river, which flows from the Vatnajokull glacier and collects water from a large area in Northeast Iceland. The person on the left helps give a sense of the scale of this gigantic waterfall.

The falls are 100 metres (330 ft) wide and have a drop of 45 metres (150 ft) down to the Jokulsargljufur canyon. It is the largest waterfall in Europe in terms of volume discharge, having an average water flow of 193 cubic meters per second. The waterfall can be reached by a new tarmac road, finished in 2011. On the west bank there are no facilities and the view on the waterfall is somewhat hindered by the waterfall’s spray. On the east bank there is an information panel maintained by the staff of Vatnajokull National Park and a maintained track to the best viewpoints. [Source: Wikipedia]