Rjukan Falls
Rjukanfossen
View of the falls
LocationVestfold og Telemark, Norway
Coordinates59°51′59″N 8°28′44″E / 59.866257°N 8.4789004°E / 59.866257; 8.4789004
TypePlunge
Number of drops1
Longest drop104 metres (341 ft)

Rjukan Falls (English)[1] or Rjukanfossen (Norwegian) is a waterfall in the western part of the Vestfjorddalen valley in Tinn Municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The 104-metre (341 ft) tall waterfall is located on the river Måna, about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to the west of the town of Rjukan.[2][3]

Illustration from 1848

Historically, the waterfall was a major tourist attraction, being one of the first floodlighted waterfalls by electricity produced by the same waterfall. In 1905, the waterfall and surrounding river were harnessed by the Vemork hydro-electrical power plant to produce power for the saltpetre production at a nearby Norsk Hydro factory.[2]

Name

The waterfall is named Rjukanfossen in Norwegian (Old Norse: Rjúkandi). The first element is derived from the present participle of the verb rjúka which means "to emit smoke" or "to emit vapor" (referring to all the froth from the waterfall).[2]

The last element is a later addition to the name which comes from the Norwegian word fossen which means "the waterfall".

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rjukanfossen.

References

  1. ↑ "Rjukan Falls, Norway". National Geographic.
  2. 1 2 3 Mæhlum, Lars, ed. (8 June 2020). "Rjukanfossen (Tinn)". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  3. ↑ "Rjukanfossen, Tinn, Vestfold og Telemark, Norway". World Waterfall Database.


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