Storforsen is a
waterfall
A waterfall is any 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 seve ...
on the
Pite River in Swedish
Norrbottens län is located approximately 38 km northwest of
Älvsbyn. With an average flow of 187 m
3/s, the rapids are one of the most voluminous in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. The
rapids
Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep stream gradient, gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid t ...
stretch over a distance of 5 km in which it drops 82 meters 60 of which are a single waterfall.
Flow usually is highest at
midsummer
Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer, taking place on or near the date of the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere; the longest Daytime, day of the year. The name "midsummer" mainly refers to summer solstice festivals of Eu ...
: 870 m
3/s. During the floodyear 1995 a volume of 1200 cubic metres flowed down Storforsen each second.
To prevent accidents the rocks surrounding the rapids are fenced, views being readily accessible to the public via ramps. While the rapids were used in previous years to transport logs, today its surroundings are part of a nature park, visited by 150,000 people each year.
Image gallery
Image:Storforsen-18.JPG
Image:Storforsen Hotell från Storforsen utsiktsplats.jpg
Image:Storforsen-23.JPG
Image:Storforsen-28.JPG
Image:Storforsen1.jpg
Image:Storforsen2.jpg
Image:Storforsen3.jpg
Image:Storforsen in early Winter.jpg
See also
*
List of waterfalls
This list of notable waterfalls of the world is sorted by continent, then country, then province, state or territory. A waterfall is included if it is at least tall and has an existing Wikipedia article, or it is considered historically sig ...
*
List of waterfalls by flow rate
This list of waterfalls by flow rate includes all waterfalls which are known to have an average flow rate or discharge of at least . The waterfalls in this list are those for which there is verifiable information, and the list should not be assu ...
References
External links
Storforsen at the website of Älvsbyn municipality
{{commons, Storforsen
Pite River basin
Rapids
Rivers of Norrbotten County