- Mardalsfossen
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Mardalsfossen 
View of the MardalsfossenLocation Nesset, Møre og Romsdal, Norway Coordinates 62°28′16″N 08°07′12″E / 62.47111°N 8.12°ECoordinates: 62°28′16″N 08°07′12″E / 62.47111°N 8.12°E Type Tiered Elevation 945 metres (3,100 ft) Total height 705 metres (2,313 ft) Number of drops 2 Longest drop 358 metres (1,175 ft) Watercourse Mardøla Mardalsfossen is one of the ten highest waterfalls in Europe. It is located in the municipality of Nesset in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The falls are on the Mardøla river which flows into the lake Eikesdalsvatnet, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) northwest of the village of Eikesdalen. The waterfall is depicted in Nesset's coat-of-arms.
The total fall is 705 metres (2,313 ft) according to SSB, 657 metres (2,156 ft) according to World Waterfall Database.[1] It consists of two large drops and several smaller ones lower down. The highest vertical drop, which is 358 metres (1,175 ft), is one of the tallest in Norway. It is on average 24 metres (79 ft) wide. It is a tiered waterfall.
The water, which has been tapped for hydroelectric use, flows over the falls during the summer tourist season of 20 June to 20 August. At other times the water is channeled through the hydroelectric scheme. The highest rate of flow ever recorded in the falls is 45 cubic metres per second (1,600 cu ft/s). Currently in the summers, the flow limited to less than 3 cubic metres per second (110 cu ft/s).[2]
In 1970 Arne Næss, the Norwegian founder of the Deep Ecology movement, tied himself with 300 others in protest against the building of a dam and the subsequent removal of the waterfall.[3]
Name
The first element is the genitive of the name of the valley Mardalen and the last element is the finite form of foss which means "waterfall". The name of the valley is a compound of an old river name Mara (now Mardøla) and the finite form of dal which means "dale" or "valley". The old name of the river is probably derived from the verb mara which means "rub", "grave", or "dig".
References
- ^ Mardalsfossen at the World Waterfall Database
- ^ Store norske leksikon. "Mardøla" (in Norwegian). http://www.snl.no/Mard%C3%B8la. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
- ^ "Philosophers don’t have to climb mountains...". http://www.ntnu.no/gemini/2002-06e/28-30.htm.
Categories:- Waterfalls of Norway
- Nesset
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