Name of Waterfall

Kjelfossen

Description

Kjelfossen is found immediately southeast of the small town of Gudvangen along the E16 at the head of the Nærøyfjord and can be easily seen from the highway for a stretch of nearly 2km.Thanks to its proximity and visibility to the end of Norway’s famous and sublimely scenic Nærøyfjord, Kjelfossen has been among the most well known of the world’s true “tall” waterfalls for centuries. The falls have been cited and referenced in countless encyclopedias and almanacs over the years and were discussed in Edward Rashleigh’s 1935 book “Among the Waterfalls of the World”, thought to be the first major publication dedicated to the subject. Flowing from several modest lakes perched high up on the plateau above the fjord, Kjelfossen is actually made up of two parallel streams which drop in concert, merging into one near the base of the falls, while a third smaller stream tumbles down adjacent to the other two. The largest in volume of the two is the left most stream, officially designated as Stor (Big) Kjelfossen, with a total drop of approximately 640 meters (2,100 feet), including a sheer leap of about 200 meters at its head. The center stream, officially Vetle (Little) Kjelfossen has a total drop of about 765 meters (2,510 feet). The third stream (on the right) tumbles about 675 meters but does not appear likely to sustain its flow nearly as long as the other two.
Kjelfossen is known for its height much more so than its volume (which is not terribly considerable), but references to the exact height of the falls have been quite varied over the years. Many early sources cite the falls as standing a total of 1,847 feet in all, and some claim this to be in a single, uninterrupted fall (which is simply not the case). Other sources have suggested a height of as much as 2,756 feet – a figure which would have to take into account the talus cascades below the actual bottom of the falls down to the confluence with the Nærøyelva at the valley floor. We had previously listed the height of the falls at approximately 2,475 feet, and have since re-evaluated our estimates multiple times due to increasingly accurate and more detailed topographic data becoming available.
Though the small drainage area which feeds into Kjelfossen precludes significant volume throughout the year, during the spring and early summer months when snow is melting and rain is falling consistently, Kjelfossen is a rather impressive waterfall. By late autumn it will be diminished considerably without consistent rain and may effectively freeze dry during the winter.Once again thanks to the pronunciation found in the Norwegian language, this waterfall has held several variations in the spelling of its name. Kjelfossen is proper (pronounced “Shell-fossen”), but Kjels, Kjells, Kile, Keel and Keil have also been used as prefixes at some point or another.

Other Names

['Kjelsfossen', 'Kjellsfossen', 'Kilefossen', 'Keilfossen']

Magnitude

48.83

IWC Rating (International Waterfall Classification)

2.35

Total Height (ft)

2510

Tallest Drop

650

Number of Drops

8

Average Width

25

Maximum Width

50

Average High Volume (Cubic ft per second)

25 cfs (7 months)

Average Low Volume (Cubic ft per second)

5 cfs (5 months)

Pitch

90 degrees

Run (ft)

1600

Watershed or Feeder Stream

Kjelfossgrovi