Why so many waterfalls?

SLN geography@Iceland 2003 Photo-enquiry 7

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7 Why has Iceland got so many waterfalls?

	1 Why is Oliver wet?
	7.2 Answer – Seljalandsfoss. Foss is the Icelandic word for waterfall.
	7.3 Seljalandsfoss is about 45 metres high.
	7.4 The plunge pool is created by the force of water
	7.5 You can get behind it because of the back erosion under the cliff especially when it has more water coming down.
	7.6 Skogarfoss is another waterfall with a lot of water in it because it rains a lot in Iceland.
Low - High	7.6 Watch a sideways movie of Skogarfoss!
	7.7 Skogarfoss and Seljalandsfoss tumble over a old sea cliffs.
	7.8 The sea has retreated from the cliffs because the land is rising - it could be for tectonic reasons as Iceland is on a plate boundary.
	7.9 It could be for isostatic reasons, glaciers melting over the last hundreds of thousands of years, lifting weight off the land so it lifts up.
	7.10 Because of this uplift, Dyrholey used to be an island but now it is attached to the mainland.
	7.11 Here is another island left high and dry and surrounded by a plain.
	7.12 Seacliffs inland with farms nestling underneath.
	7.13 This leaves former sea bed as flat land good for farming.
	7.14 Fulmars are seabirds normally nesting on sea cliffs close to the sea are nesting 10km inland and have to make the journey everyday to feed on fish.
	7.15 Gullfoss has a lot of water because it flows from two melting icecaps.
Low - High	7.15 Listen and watch one of the most powerful falls in Iceland.
	7.16 Tectonic faults have created so many fault lines in Iceland and therefore waterfalls where rivers cross them.
	7.17 Gullfoss canyon is 10 km long because the power of the river has eroded the waterfall backwards.
Low - High	7.17 Watch a video of Gullfoss canyon and to think Icelandic farmers and British engineers were going to spoil this with an HEP station. One daughter of the farmer campaigned and saved the golden falls to be enjoyed