Ringedalsfossen

Ringedalsfossen is one of two large waterfalls which drop into the valley of Ringedalsvatnet outside of the town of Odda in Ullensvang. The falls are located at the point where two streams, the Nybuåna and the (presumably) unnamed stream which would naturally drain from Langavatnet descend side-by-side into Ringedalen at the head of its namesake lake. The falls on the Nybuåna, the primary part of Ringedalsfossen, drops for about 395 meters in a single, nearly sheer veiling horsetail type fall, while the outlet of Langavatnet drops at least 270 meters from a lower step just to the south of the main fall (it may have a second tier just upstream which could bring it up to the nearly 400 meter mark, but it's difficult to tell from topographic maps). About 340 linear meters further downstream from the main fall, the river drops over a final 25 meter tall fall right as it enters Ringedalsvatnet. Because of the storied history of Ringedalsvatnet, the relatively easy access to the area, and the subsequent hydroelectric developments, there have been numerous citations of this waterfall with widely varying height figures. Some sources have suggested its height is as little as 160 meters, while more often it has been cited as a round 300 meters. Topographic maps with one-meter contours show the falls are much closer to the 400-meter mark, give or take depending on where the top of the falls is actually located. Because of its large drainage area and close proximity to the industrial development in the town of Odda, Ringedalsfossen was an obvious target for Hydroelectric development, and has been regulated by the Tysso II Hydroelectric system since 1967, which was in part commissioned due to the need to replace the aging Tysso I system which operates at the outlet of Ringedalsvatnet. As a result, Ringedalsfossen has been mostly dewatered and no longer reliably flows. During the spring and early summer melt season a small volume of water may still flow over the falls, but it is a far cry from the torrent which would have naturally been present. Very rarely a heavy winter snow pack may temporarily restore the falls to something resembling it's natural state, but these events seem to be rare (or at least rarely documented).Originally this waterfall was known as Skjeggedalsfossen, and most of the early black and white photographs floating around on the internet dating from well before the river was regulated label it as such. When the name Ringedalsfossen was adopted is not known, but it is now recognized as the official name of the falls.