Iceland > Pictures and travelogues > Hengifoss, Barnafoss, and Godafoss waterfalls

Pictures from waterfalls in Iceland (part 2): Hengifoss, Barnafoss, and Godafoss.   Hengifoss waterfall in Iceland. At 118 m, Hengifoss is one of the tallest waterfalls in Iceland. It is situated in the east of Iceland, not far from the lake Lagarfljót.  The top of the waterfall is about 450 m above sea level and water drops into a beautiful gorge, Hengifossárglúfur. A special feature of the rock layers in the gorge is the layers of red clay sandwiched between layers of basalt.   When there is not too much water in the river, one can go behind the waterfall and see the cave it has hollowed out of the rock. There are a few other waterfalls in the river Hengifossá. Barnafoss waterfall in Iceland. Barnafoss is a waterfall in Western Iceland, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Reykjavík. Barnafoss means children'waterfall. A tale explains the disappearance of a stone arch that used to bridge the river : one Christmas day, a local family - the Hraunsas – went to attend mass, with the exception of two children who were to stay at home. When the Hraunsás returned, the children had vanished. Their tracks led to the river. The children had fallen off the stone arch. They drowned. Then the mother had the arch destroyed to prevent the recurrence of such a tragedy.  Godafoss waterfall in Iceland. Godafoss is a 12 m high waterfall. It is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Iceland since the water of the river Skjálfandafljót falls over a width of 30 meters. It is located in the Mývatn district of North-Central Iceland.   Godafoss means waterfall of the gods. History tells that Þorgeir, chief of the Ljósavatn district and lawspeaker of the Althing (the national parliament), was entrusted in the year 1000 with the task of deciding whether Icelanders should adopt the Christian faith. When his decision was formally accepted, he threw his statues of the pagan gods into the waterfall. A window in the Cathedral of Akureyri illustrates this story. See more pictures from waterfalls in Iceland: Bruarafoss waterfalls, Dettifoss waterfall, and Gullfoss waterfall.   Links • Dirk Wuyts, the author of the pictures above Find here the web site of Dirk Wuyts, the author of the pictures above. It contains many pictures from his trips to various countries in the world, mainly scuba diving holidays with ADC scuba Diving Antwerpen. Site in Dutch. See also • Iceland > Pictures and travelogues > Waterfalls in Iceland • Iceland > Pictures and travelogues > Landmannalaugar in Iceland