Krimmler Wasserfälle

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The Krimmler Wasserfälle, with a total height of 380 meters (1,247 feet), is the highest waterfall in Europe.

It is located near the village of Krimml in Austria, in the Hohe Tauern National Park. The waterfall begins at the Krimmler Ache at the top of the Krimmler Achendal, and plunges downward in three stages. The next stage is the Krimml in Salzach, after which the fall flows to the Inn and flows into the Danube River and finally to the Black Sea. The upper stage has a drop of 140 meters, the middle of 100 meters, and the lowest a drop of 140 meters.

1 Water
2 Tourism
3 Literature
4 External links

[edit] Water

The Krimmler Ache is a glacial stream, and its flow varies greatly. The flow in June and July is 20,000 m³/h (about 5.28 million gallons per hour), while in February it is only 500 m³/h (about 0.13 million gallons per hour). The greatest measured flow was on August 25, 1987, when it was 600,000 m³/h, or almost 160 million gallons per hour.

[edit] Tourism

Since the 18th century, the primary touring interests in the waterfall have come from Britain. To ensure that the tourists could see more of the waterfall without difficulty, Ignaz von Kürsinger, from Mittersil, created a path to the upper part of the waterfall. In 1879, the Austrian Alpine Association ("Oesterreichischer Alpenverein" or ÖAV) improved the road to provide a more panoramic view. The falls are visited annually by about 400,000 people. There is a negative impact on the local residents, because of the high traffic level in a small village, and because of erosion to the road.

A small part of the Krimmler Wasserfälle. Scale is given by the people on the right.

[edit] Literature

Slupetzky, Heinz and Johannes Wiesenegger. 1993. Vom Schnee, Eis, Schmelzwasser und Regen zum Gletscherbach – Hydrologie der Krimmler Ache In: Krimmler Wasserfälle, Festschrift 25 Jahre Europäisches Naturschutzdiplom 1967-1992, Innsbruck Austria. ["From snow, ice, melt-water and rain to glacial stream - Hydrology of the Krimmler Ache"]

Stocker, Erich. 1993. Zur Geomorphologie der Krimmler Wasserfälle In: Krimmler Wasserfälle, Festschrift 25 Jahre Europäisches Naturschutzdiplom 1967-1992, Innsbruck Austria. ["On the geomorphology of the Krimmler Wasserfälle"]