An Encounter with the Power and Serenity of Dettifoss

by Gerry van Roosmalen

I recently visited the majestic Dettifoss, located in the remote northeast of Iceland. The journey to this impressive waterfall was an adventure in itself, along road number 864, a gravel road dotted with potholes, gullies and a washboard pattern. It required a careful balance of speed to navigate the bumpy patterns as if floating.

After a long, bumpy ride, I was rewarded with the sight of Dettifoss, a natural wonder known as the most powerful waterfall in Western Europe. With an average water displacement of 193 cubic metres per second, but with the potential to swell to as much as 500 cubic metres per second, it is a mind-boggling force of nature. A roaring mass of water plunges over the 100-metre-wide rim with deafening violence and then disappears 44 metres into the depths.

Later in the day, fog began to rise, gradually reducing visibility. The fog even seemed to muffle the thundering sound of the waterfall, slowly transforming the violent character that Dettifoss is known for into a serene environment. The other side of the river Jökulsá á Fjöllum was gradually hidden from view, and before me lay a mass of water that seemed to manifest itself out of nowhere, only to disappear again into the same nothingness. Dettifoss revealed itself as a place of magical beauty and awe-inspiring power, even shrouded in the mysterious haze of Icelandic nature.