Gullfoss
Template:For Template:Infobox waterfall
Gullfoss ("Golden Falls"; {{#if:Is-Gullfoss_pronunciation.ogg|{{#ifexist:Media:Is-Gullfoss_pronunciation.ogg|<phonos file="Is-Gullfoss_pronunciation.ogg">Icelandic pronunciation:</phonos>|{{errorTemplate:Main other|Audio file "Is-Gullfoss_pronunciation.ogg" not found}}Template:Category handler}}}} {{#invoke:IPA|main}}) is a waterfall located in the canyon of the Hvítá river in southwest Iceland. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country, and is included in "Golden Circle" tours of the countryside near Reykjavík.
History and descriptionEdit
The Hvítá river flows southward, and about a kilometre above the falls it turns sharply to the west and flows down into a wide curved three-step "staircase" and then abruptly plunges in two stages (Template:Convert, and Template:Convert)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> into a crevice Template:Convert deep. The crevice, about Template:Convert wide and Template:Convert in length, extends perpendicular to the flow of the river. The average amount of water running down the waterfall is Template:Convert per second in the summer and Template:Convert per second in the winter. The highest flood measured was Template:Convert per second.
During the first half of the 20th century and some years into the late 20th century, there was much speculation about using Gullfoss to generate electricity. During this period, the waterfall was rented indirectly by its owners, Tómas Tómasson and Halldór Halldórsson, to foreign investors. However, the investors' attempts were unsuccessful, partly due to lack of money. Sigríður Tómasdóttir, daughter of the co-owner, is popularly credited with saving the waterfall from exploitation: advocating for legal protections against foreign control of it, and reportedly threatening to throw herself down the falls. A stone memorial above the falls depicts her profile.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The waterfall was later sold to the Icelandic government and was made a permanent conservation site in 1979.<ref name="sittig">Linda Harris Sittig, "Sigridur Tomasdottir, Steward of the Land," StrongWomenInHistory.com/, May 28, 2012.</ref>
Gullfoss is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Iceland. Together with Þingvellir, Geysir, and the other geysers of Haukadalur, Gullfoss forms part of the Golden Circle, a popular day excursion for tourists in Iceland.
In popular cultureEdit
A photograph taken at Gullfoss in winter is the album cover of Porcupine by the British band Echo and the Bunnymen. Gullfoss is the setting of the music video for the 2003 single "Heaven" by the band Live. An animated version of the site appears in the third season of the TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It appears briefly in a subplot of the TV series Vikings, in which one character kills herself by diving into the falls. It is featured as a "pit stop" in the thirty-fourth season of the American reality competition The Amazing Race.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- The Official Gullfoss website Template:Webarchive
- Live webcam located at Gullfoss Template:Webarchive
- Gullfoss gallery from islandsmyndir.is
- Gullfoss Gallery
- Gullfoss.org Information and photos of Gullfoss
- Gullfoss virtual tour Template:Webarchive