2022-01-26

Hjálparfoss Waterfall │ Iceland Photo Gallery

Documenting Iceland

by: Rafn Sig,-

Hjálparfoss er tvöfaldur foss neðst í Fossá í Þjórsárdal, rétt áður en hún sameinast Þjórsá. Svæðið umhverfis hann heitir Hjálp og er tiltölulega gróið. Það ber þó merki um stöðugar ásóknir Heklu gömlu í gegnum aldirnar.

Blágrýtismyndarnirnar umhverfis fossinn eru fallegur rammi um hvítfyssandi vatnið. Nafnið Hjálp varð til í munni þeirra, sem komu úr erfiðum ferðum yfir Sprengisand og fundu þar snapir fyrir hestana. Landsvirkjun hefur látið græða mikið land í Þjórsárdalnum og ekki sízt vestan Sámstaðamúla.

Hjalparfoss (meaning the “helping falls”) is a beautiful, two stepped waterfall that joined at its base into a very large plunge pool surrounded by some rugged lava formations. The lava field that this feature falls from was created in one of the many eruptions of the nearby Hekla volcano. Hekla is one of Iceland’s most active, unpredictable and explosive volcanoes, so violent that in the Middle Ages it earned the nickname ‘the Gateway to Hell’.

Hjálparfoss is but one of the many waterfalls in this area. Nearby, one can also find Þjófafoss, which flows from the Þjórsá river, and Háifoss, one of the tallest waterfalls in the country.

The surrounding area is called Hjalp (Help), because the travellers across the Sprengisandur Route found great help in reaching a vegetated area to graze their horses after a long journey in the barren. . . All info at: https://www.patreon.com/RafnSig