Hraunfossar

Hraunfossar
	The Hraunfossar
Coordinates	64 ° 42 ′ 9 ″ N , 20 ° 58 ′ 52 ″ W Coordinates: 64 ° 42 ′ 9 ″ N , 20 ° 58 ′ 52 ″ W
place	Húsafell , Reykholt , Iceland
height	12 m
width	700 m
Estuarine waters	Hvítá

The Hraunfossar [ ˈr̥øyːnˌfɔsːar ] are waterfalls in the Hvítá River near the towns of Húsafell and Reykholt in western Iceland . They are located in the municipality of Borgarbyggð .

Surname

Their name is derived from the fact that they seem to arise directly from the lava (Isl. Hraun ).

geography

The Hraunfossar are north of the Ok volcano . In the immediate vicinity of the Hraunfossar is the Barnafoss waterfall .

description

Over a length of approx. 700 meters, water flows foaming and bubbling from the black rock of the approx. 1,000 year old Hallmundarhraun lava field in over a hundred small waterfalls .

The bottom is a little further upstream: the river called Hvitá, fed by the Langjökull glacier, digs its riverbed along the border of the Gráhraun lava flow belonging to the Hallmundarhraun, which has come to a standstill there. A small side arm seeps into the porous lava and flows underground on a somewhat deeper, waterproof basalt layer. Approx. one kilometer downstream the water comes to light again in the form of countless small waterfalls and rivulets.

A pedestrian bridge crosses the foaming river Hvítá in the small gorge. From here you can see the Hraunfossar and the Barnafoss very well .