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Iceland Iceland Waterfall

Þjófafoss

One of the waterfalls of Iceland.

When to go

Thjofafoss
Grunkhead · CC BY-SA 3.0

In numbers.

Jun–Sep

Best months

142m

Elevation

The water at Þjófafoss, month by month

It roars from September to May.

It carries water fairly evenly through the year.

  1. 100%Jan
  2. 97%Feb
  3. 90%Mar
  4. 89%Apr
  5. 90%May
  6. 72%Jun
  7. 54%Jul
  8. 51%Aug
  9. 79%Sep
  10. 80%Oct
  11. 84%Nov
  12. 99%Dec
high water best months to go

Best months to go, with plenty of water and pleasant days: from June to September.

Estimate from rain, snowmelt and evaporation month by month (NASA POWER, 1991–2020) around the falls. Dams upstream can change the real flow.

Waterfall on the river Þjórsá in Iceland

Þjófafoss is a waterfall in Iceland.

Read more on Wikipedia

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.

Þjófafoss 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 Þjórsá through the falls
120 m140 m160 m180 mÞjófafoss-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 56 m in 3.5 km. Here the river runs about 33 m below the lower rim of its valley.

What is around.

  • —viewpoints
  • —waymarked walking routes
  • 1car parks
  • —swimming spots
  • —picnic sites
  • —toilets
  • —information boards and visitor centres
  • —bus stops within 1 km
  • —other named waterfalls within 4 km
  • —caves
  • 2campsitesSandártunga, Rjúpnavellir
  • 1hotels, 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 °C0125812141310520
Night °C-4-4-4-1268741-2-4
Rain & snow (mm)1921751691309692111119183156162194
Wet days232122191818202021202122
Sun h/day0.92.66.310.211.911.09.17.45.23.41.30.7
Snow on the ground (cm)39465343161002101826

Long-term averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, with temperatures carried to the height of the falls (142 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
2020135%89%101%103%117%128%79%137%118%55%101%77%
202152%75%93%91%77%130%93%75%124%94%127%76%
2022144%89%181%72%113%119%124%128%69%70%76%38%
202389%141%32%102%223%137%22%75%101%96%61%76%
202493%72%68%67%122%122%116%130%61%90%104%122%
202590%127%110%70%108%114%129%104%99%95%36%79%

130% wetter than usual 70% drier than usual

Compare with the waterfalls nearby.

Þjófafoss

Iceland

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

Hjálparfoss

Iceland

  • —Height
  • —Average flow
  • May–Jul, SepBest months

See the guide

Háifoss

Iceland

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

See the guide

Gullfoss

Iceland

  • 32 mHeight
  • 140 m³/sAverage flow
  • Jun–JulBest months

See the guide

About these numbers

Names, height, width, riverWikidata (Q2043770) · CC0
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.