Powerscourt Waterfall () is the second highest waterfall in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

at high, it is located at the base of Glensoulan on the

River Dargle The River Dargle () is a river that flows from the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland to the Irish Sea. It forms Powerscourt Waterfall, receives the Glencree and Glencullen Rivers, and later the Glenmunder Stream / County Brook, and the Swan River ...

near

Enniskerry, County Wicklow Enniskerry (historically ''Annaskerry'', from ) is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. The population was 2,008 at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census. Location The village is situated on the Glencullen River in the foothills of the Wic ...

. Powerscourt is overlooked by the peaks of Djouce () and

Maulin Maulin (), at , is the 272nd–highest peak in Ireland on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Arderins, Arderin scale, however, being below 600 m it does not rank on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Vandeleur-Lynams, Vandeleur-Lynam or Hewitt ( ...

(), and flows continuously all year in a horsetail-fan pattern. The waterfall is part of the Powerscourt Estate, which is open to the public for an entrance fee.

Geography

Powerscourt Waterfall, known in Irish as ''Eas Chonaill'', lies at the base of the Glensoulan valley, a

hanging valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over a ve ...

, through which the River Dargle flows from its source on the southern slopes of Tonduff mountain, eventually falling into the steep corrie in which the waterfall lies. Several mountains surround the upper section of the Glensoulan valley in a "horseshoe-shape", being:

, Tonduff , War Hill , and Djouce . The waterfall is bounded by Crone Woods on its northern section.

Geology

Geological Survey of Ireland Geological Survey Ireland or Geological Survey of Ireland (), founded in 1845, is the National Earth Science agency of Ireland. Overview Geological Survey Ireland is a division of the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment a ...

(GSI) regard the waterfalls an "important site for both the glacial feature and for the geological influence of the rocks themselves on the formation of the waterfall"; and describe the Powerscourt corrie, in which the waterfall sits, as "a fine example of glacial erosion, where accumulated ice has scoured out a deep basin, with a waterfall flowing down the steep backwall". The Powerscourt waterfall flows over Irish Ribband Group

schists Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a ...

, which sit in a metamorphic aureole of Leinster

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

. The cleavage (or

schistosity Cleavage, in structural geology and petrology, describes a type of planar Rock (geology), rock feature that develops as a result of deformation (engineering), deformation and metamorphism. The degree of deformation and metamorphism along with roc ...

) dips steeply outwards, paralleling the sides of the granite

pluton In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...

, which forms the surface over which the water cascades; however, the GSI note the contact between schist and granite is some distance upstream of the waterfall. Both boulders of schist (a silvery-sheen appearance), and of granite (a speckled crystalline appearance), can be seen in the pools at the base of the waterfall.

Access

The waterfall is part of the Powerscourt Estate, who grant paid-access to the public through a separate visitor entrance (6 miles from the main estate entrance) during set times. At the base of the waterfall are visitor facilities, car parking, picnic and

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...

area, and various concessions. The waterfall can also be viewed from Ride Rock in Crone Woods, which also offers trails to the summit of Maulin. A 7-kilometre 3-hour hill-walking route known as the Maulin Circuit, takes in Crone Woods, Maulin and the Powerscourt waterfall.

Notable events

In August 1821, during the visit of King

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

to Ireland,

Richard Wingfield, 5th Viscount Powerscourt Richard Wingfield, 5th Viscount Powerscourt (11 September 1790 – 9 August 1823) was an Anglo-Irish peer. He was the son of Richard Wingfield, 4th Viscount Powerscourt and Lady Catherine Meade, daughter of John Meade, 1st Earl of Clanwilliam. ...

dammed the waterfall so he could release a torrent while the two stood on the bridge below the falls. For reasons unknown, the king did not leave the banquet at Powerscourt House to view the waterfall, which was fortunate as, when the water was finally released, the bridge was washed away. A number of fatal accidents have taken place at Powerscourt Waterfal.l

In popular culture

The waterfall appears in the medieval fantasy film ''

Excalibur Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur that may possess magical powers or be associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. Its first reliably datable appearance is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. E ...

'' (1981) and the television historical drama series ''

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

'' (2013–2020). Some of the waterfalls scenes for Willow (film) were shot at these falls, and

Burney Falls Burney Falls is a waterfall on Burney Creek, within McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, in Shasta County, California. The water comes from underground springs above and at the falls, which are high, and provides an almost constant flo ...

in Northern California was also used for filming.Where Was Willow Filmed: All Locations
/ref>

Gallery

File:Nov12019 powerscourt (106) s.jpg, Waterfall in autumn File:521 Powerscourt Waterfall, County Wicklow.jpg, Waterfall and visitor picnic area File:Power's Court Waterfall (5).jpg, The waterfall in July 2008 File:View over PowerscourtWaterfall from Maulin Mtn Co Wicklow 6thApr 2012.JPG, From Crone Woods on slopes of

File:Powerscourt Deerpark and Waterfall.jpg, Glensoulan Valley and Djouce behind

References

{{reflist

External links

Official WebsitePowerscourt Waterfall
World Waterfall Database (2019)
SkyCam View of Powerscourt Waterfall
TheJournal.ie (2014) Waterfalls of the Republic of Ireland Tourist attractions in County Wicklow