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Iceland Iceland Waterfall

Stjórnarfoss

One of the waterfalls of Iceland.

When to go

Stjórnarfoss 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.

Jun–Sep

Best months

43m

Elevation

The water at Stjórnarfoss, month by month

It runs all year.

It carries water fairly evenly through the year.

  1. 90%Jan
  2. 88%Feb
  3. 83%Mar
  4. 86%Apr
  5. 88%May
  6. 82%Jun
  7. 85%Jul
  8. 89%Aug
  9. 100%Sep
  10. 98%Oct
  11. 88%Nov
  12. 91%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 in Iceland

Stjórnarfoss 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.

Stjórnarfoss 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 Stjórn through the falls
50 m100 mStjórnarfoss-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 111 m in 3.6 km. Here the river runs about 94 m below the lower rim of its valley.

What is around.

  • 2viewpoints
  • 1waymarked walking routesKirkjubæjarklaustur
  • 14car parks
  • —swimming spots
  • 6picnic sites
  • 5toilets
  • 7information boards and visitor centres
  • —bus stops within 1 km
  • 2other named waterfalls within 4 kmRauðárfoss, Systrafoss
  • —caves
  • 3campsitesKirkjubær II, Tjaldsvæðið Kleifar, Hörgsland
  • 10hotels, B&Bs and huts within 6 kmGeirland, Klausturhof, Hotel Klaustur and 7 more
  • 2restaurants 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 °C122581112129632
Night °C-3-3-30378852-1-3
Rain & snow (mm)263244225184127120146166241242226260
Wet days232222201918212022222122
Sun h/day0.92.66.310.211.911.09.17.45.23.41.30.7
Snow on the ground (cm)8410412011384562776173658

Long-term averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, with temperatures carried to the height of the falls (43 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
2020109%98%92%102%108%122%78%129%118%61%87%75%
202141%93%76%94%55%159%65%64%130%105%96%80%
2022110%87%202%75%148%107%99%116%65%57%123%29%
202386%131%61%124%168%130%19%54%107%84%52%59%
202486%60%89%59%112%102%105%128%74%86%107%96%
202596%149%94%65%100%101%123%114%136%62%39%95%

130% wetter than usual 70% drier than usual

Compare with the waterfalls nearby.

Stjórnarfoss

Iceland

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

Systrafoss

Iceland

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

See the guide

Fagrifoss

Iceland

  • 80 mHeight
  • 2.2 m³/sAverage flow
  • Jun–AugBest months

See the guide

Ófærufoss

Iceland

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

See the guide

About these numbers

Names, height, width, riverWikidata (Q2174228) · 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, canyons, caves or dark skies?

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

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cavesCavernyasEvery cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Coming soonVisit
dark skiesDarkskyasWhere the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Coming soonVisit