Glymur () is the second-highest
waterfall
A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...
in
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...
, with a cascade of 198 m. It was long regarded as the tallest until being surpassed by
Morsárfoss, a newly measured waterfall near Morsárjökull in 2011.
It is situated at the rear end of the
Hvalfjörður. Since the opening of the
Hvalfjörður Tunnel
The Hvalfjörður Tunnel ( is, Hvalfjarðargöng ) is a road tunnel under the Hvalfjörður fjord in Iceland and a part of Route 1. It is long and reaches a depth of below sea level. Opened on 11 July 1998, it shortens the distance from Reykjav ...
under this
fjord
In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icela ...
, visitor numbers have dropped.
The river
Botnsá runs from the
Hvalvatn
The lake Hvalvatn () is situated east of Hvalfjörður in the western portion of Iceland. It lies to the east of the tuya '' Hvalfell'' . The surface measures , and its greatest depth is .
Not far from Hvalvatn is Glymur, the second highest wat ...
lake and after a short distance the water falls down alongside the Hvalfell mountain into a steep canyon. The waterfall can be accessed from a parking area at the end of the road. Hikers can view the waterfall from marked paths on the east side of the river Botnsá.
Gallery
Glymurschlucht.JPG, Downstream view of the canyon
Rauðhöfði.jpg, Legend of Rauðhöfði
Second picture is an engraving showing people trying to escape from a monster whale. It is an illustration to the Icelandic legend of Redhead (Rauðhöfði ) which is said to be the cause of formation of Glymur.
See also
*
List of waterfalls
*
Waterfalls of Iceland
Iceland is unusually suited for waterfalls (Icelandic: s. ''foss,'' pl. ''fossar''). This island country has a north Atlantic climate that produces frequent rain and snow and a near-Arctic location that produces large glaciers, whose summer ...
References
External links
Information
Waterfalls of Iceland
{{Iceland-geo-stub