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Iceland Iceland Waterfall

Lagarfoss

One of the waterfalls of Iceland.

When to go

Lagarfoss seen from above (Sentinel-2)
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30

In numbers.

0.42m³/s

Average flow

estimate

Jun–Sep

Best months

16m

Elevation

The water at Lagarfoss, month by month

It roars from October to June.

It carries water fairly evenly through the year.

  1. 0.7 m³/sJan
  2. 0.5 m³/sFeb
  3. 0.4 m³/sMar
  4. 0.6 m³/sApr
  5. 0.8 m³/sMay
  6. 0.5 m³/sJun
  7. 0.3 m³/sJul
  8. 0.2 m³/sAug
  9. 0.3 m³/sSep
  10. 0.6 m³/sOct
  11. 0.7 m³/sNov
  12. 0.7 m³/sDec
high water best months to go

From about 0.24 m³/s in the lowest month to 0.80 m³/s in the highest. Best months to go, with plenty of water and pleasant days: from June to September.

Estimate: the timing comes from rain, snowmelt and evaporation (NASA POWER, 1991–2020); the amounts from the river model of HydroATLAS (WaterGAP, 1971–2000). Dams upstream can change the real flow.

Lagarfoss is a waterfall in Iceland.

Getting there.

Plan your visit

Stay, explore and get there

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Seen from the sky.

8 × 8 km of cloud-free satellite image, with what OpenStreetMap knows around the falls.

Lagarfoss seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 2 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 8 × 8 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

The Lagarfljót through the falls
5 m10 m15 mLagarfoss-1.5 km-1 km-0.5 km0+0.5 km+1 km+1.5 km← upstreamdownstream →

The line follows the river as mapped in OpenStreetMap; heights from the 30 m Copernicus model, which smooths narrow drops — the published height of the falls is the one above.

The valley below the falls
−690 m+690 m

Around the falls the river drops 14 m in 3.5 km.

What is around.

  • —viewpoints
  • —waymarked walking routes
  • —car parks
  • —swimming spots
  • 1picnic sites
  • —toilets
  • 2information boards and visitor centres
  • —bus stops within 1 km
  • —other named waterfalls within 4 km
  • —caves
  • —campsites
  • —hotels, B&Bs and huts within 6 km
  • —restaurants and cafés within 3 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, up to 2 km around the falls (unless noted). A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Weather

The weather, month by month.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon °C1114712141310521
Night °C-4-4-4-2268751-2-4
Rain & snow (mm)12098106919879108112118146139133
Wet days181618161615171817201919
Sun h/day0.41.13.86.47.47.86.05.03.51.60.50.3
Snow on the ground (cm)37404332153003112130

Long-term averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, with temperatures carried to the height of the falls (16 m) at −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Not a forecast.

Recent years

Wet years and dry years

Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A wet season above 100 % usually means a fuller waterfall.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
202088%153%115%85%40%72%85%40%123%154%84%219%
2021126%107%111%36%91%101%46%33%118%172%82%51%
202243%120%45%87%137%168%106%79%78%106%200%89%
2023120%71%110%72%40%98%107%39%169%108%96%51%
202467%86%163%117%53%134%58%160%82%61%55%39%
2025130%66%50%106%61%246%63%66%121%60%57%98%

130% wetter than usual 70% drier than usual

Compare with the waterfalls nearby.

Lagarfoss

Iceland

  • —Height
  • 0.42 m³/sAverage flow
  • Jun–SepBest months

Fardagafoss

Iceland

  • —Height
  • 0.95 m³/sAverage flow
  • Jun–AugBest months

See the guide

Gljúfursárfoss

Iceland

  • —Height
  • —Average flow
  • Jun–SepBest months

See the guide

Hengifoss

Iceland

  • 128 mHeight
  • —Average flow
  • Jun–AugBest months

See the guide

About these numbers

Names, height, width, riverWikidata (Q16508652) · CC0
River flow and catchmentHydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Relief, river profile, 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Paths, viewpoints, parking© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.