Tyssestrengene

Tyssestrengene is one of two large waterfalls which drop into the valley of Ringedalsvatnet outside of the town of Odda in Ullensvang. Because of early industrial development in the nearby towns of Odda and Tyssedal, Tyssestrengene achieved notoriety before the beginning of the 20th century and its reputation has grown in excess of its actual stature as a result. The falls have at times been cited as one of the tallest on earth, usually referenced with a height of 646 meters (2,120 feet), or as a much more reasonable 300 meters (985 feet). The references citing the falls as over 600 meters in height seem to be a rough estimate of the total loss in elevation between the top of the falls and Ringedalsvatnet in the valley below, but this difference in elevation occurs over a distance of about 1.6 kilometers, much of which cannot be directly attributed to the drop of Tyssestrengene itself, and also includes an entirely separate lower waterfall which drops over 60 meters itself. The latter figure is much closer to accurate. One-meter contour topographic maps indicate the actual drop of Tyssestrengene is approximately 335 meters, falling in a sheer free-fall set in a deep alcove cleaved into the side of the valley. The falls drop in two side-by-side segments, each originating from a separate outlet in the lake Tyssehylen a short distance upstream from the falls. Both segments are sheer free-falls, but the right segment impacts a rock about one-quarter of the way down its fall. Like neighboring Ringedalsfossen, Tyssesetrengene has fallen victim to hydroelectric development. The Tysso has been directed into a diversion tunnel upstream from the falls since 1967 as part of the Tysso II Hydroelectric system, and as such the falls are completely dry today. Unlike Ringedalsfossen, which does occasionally still flow with a modest volume, Tyssestrengene is thought to be more or less permanently dry. The only periods when the falls have been known to flow since the inception of the Tysso II system is when the diversion had to be shut off for maintenance. This is known to have only occurred twice since 2000.