Why does Iceland have so many waterfalls? There are thousands of them and they range in all different sizes and strength. When I was driving around the Golden Circle I even ran into waterfalls unplanned!
Iceland is a unique island situated at a very high latitude, not far from Greenland and the Arctic Circle, yet it has a relatively mild climate considering its location. Iceland is full of glaciers and it experiences regular snow/rainfall throughout the year. As temperatures fluctuate between below freezing in the dark days of winter (the shortest day has just four hours of sunlight!) and the warmer days in the summer, the glaciers experience periodic melting.
And we benefit from it! Some of the waterfalls in Iceland are considered to the best waterfalls throughout all of Europe. The largest waterfall is Gullfoss–pictured below. Gullfoss dropped so far, I couldn’t see the bottom of it from where I was standing. Gullfoss means “Golden Waterfall” because when the sun is out and it strikes the cascading waters, the water looks golden. Unfortunately it was cloudy the day I went to see it but it was still an incredible sight. The water is fed from a glacial lake about 40km north called Hvitavatn. The power behind this waterfall is tremendous, the ground practically shook from the sound of the water crashing down. Similar to how I felt when I saw Niagra Falls for the very first time.
I saw a caption to a photo of Gullfoss as I was scrolling through Instagram that said “One feels more energetic when leaving Gullfoss than when arriving. That’s the impact these unique nature sites have on us.” I believe that to be true.
I love the power you feel standing close to a waterfall, the mist as it blows in your direction and the rainbows generated when the sun’s rays strike it in just the right way.
You should try camping there on the valleys near the falls. It gives an even better feel. Nice description of the falls 🙂
Thank you! I would love to go camping next time I visit Iceland.
I loved all the waterfalls in Plitvice Lakes Croatia, Hawaii, Jeju Island in South Korea and Niagra Falls in my backyard in upstate New York.
I loved Niagra Falls, I loved the bright blue-ish green water. Thank you for reading!
Gullfoss is stunning. The color of that water is unreal.
Gullfoss is amazing. What others did you see on your trip?
It really is! I also saw Seljlandsfoss and then others that I don’t know the name of! They were streams of water pouring from cliffsides as we were driving around. It was so beautiful.
This is amazing! STUNNING 😀
Thank you!
Iceland is very special. I have been to Gullfoss. Thank you for posting this!
Thanks for reading!
one place I would really love to visit
This is great. I’m planning to visit Iceland this year so saving this post 🙂
That is great, you are going to have so much fun! If you are interested in learning more, I have several other posts on Iceland here: https://wonderlosttravels.com/destinations-2/iceland/