Döda Fallet
Encyclopedia
Whitewater
Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...
rapid
Rapid
A rapid is a section of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. A rapid is a hydrological feature between a run and a cascade. A rapid is characterised by the river becoming shallower and having some rocks exposed above the...
in Ragunda Municipality
Ragunda Municipality
Ragunda Municipality is a municipality in Jämtland County in northern Sweden. Its seat is in Hammarstrand.The present municipality was formed in 1974, when "old" Ragunda Municipality was amalgamated with the municipalities of Fors and Stugun...
in the eastern part of the province of Jämtland
Jämtland
Jämtland or Jamtland is a historical province or landskap in the center of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders to Härjedalen and Medelpad in the south, Ångermanland in the east, Lapland in the north and Trøndelag and Norway in the west...
in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
The Indalsälven
Indalsälven
Indalsälven is one of Sweden's longest rivers with a total length of 430 kilometers. Among its tributaries are Kallströmmen, Långan, Hårkan and Ammerån. A total of 26 hydropower plants are placed along its course, making it the third most power producing river of Sweden.-References:...
river previously flowed through the 25 km (16 mi) long lake Ragundasjön and then immediately over a high waterfall known then as Gedungsen or Storforsen (The great whitewater rapid). It was one of the most impressive waterfalls in Sweden with a total fall height of about 35 meters (115 feet) and a large water discharge.
Background
In the late 18th century, loggingLogging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
emerged as a major industry in the heavily forested region of Jämtland
Jämtland
Jämtland or Jamtland is a historical province or landskap in the center of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders to Härjedalen and Medelpad in the south, Ångermanland in the east, Lapland in the north and Trøndelag and Norway in the west...
. The rivers were used as fast and relatively easy transportation of the timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
to the coastal sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
s. The whitewater rapid Storforsen however was a major obstacle as it damaged or destroyed much of the timber, forcing use of land transportation (portaging) past the waterfall.
Because of this, a man named Magnus Huss, also known as Vildhussen (the Wild Huss), was in 1793 appointed to solve the problem by constructing a canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
to bypass the waterfall. During 1794 and 1795 preliminary work such as clearing forest was carried out, but work on the canal channel did not begin until 1796, partly due to sabotage by locals who were skeptical or did not want to lose their paid work portaging the timber.
In early 1796 work on the canal started. It was however dug through unconsolidated glacial-outwash sand and gravel including an esker
Esker
An esker is a long winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North America...
, and the spring flood of 1796 was unusually heavy. The porous ground beneath the canal could not withstand the force of the water, which started to quickly erode
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
deep into the esker. In only four hours in the night of 6/7 June 1796 Ragundasjön drained completely, triggering a 15 metres (49.2 ft)-high flood wave moving down the river, causing much destruction and establishing the much deepened and scoured-out course of the canal as part of the river's new course. Despite being one of Sweden's largest environmental disaster
Environmental disaster
An environmental disaster is a disaster to the natural environment due to human activity. It should not be confused with the separate concept of a natural disaster.-History:...
s, no one is believed to have been killed by the event. The washed-away soil and sediments redeposited at the Indalsälven's delta in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
north of Sundsvall
Sundsvall
-External links:* - Official site from Nordisk Familjebok - Sundsvalls tourist information bureau. - The alternative guide to Sundsvall. - Blog with photos from Sundsvall....
, creating new land which Sundsvall-Härnösand Airport
Sundsvall-Härnösand Airport
Sundsvall-Härnösand Airport or Midlanda Airport is located about 21 km north of Sundsvall and 32 km south of Härnösand, Sweden....
was later built on.
Storforsen, dried, is now called Döda Fallet (the Dead Fall). At a rock barrier in the bottom of the former Ragundasjön a new waterfall was formed, Hammarfallet in Hammarstrand
Hammarstrand
Hammarstrand is a locality and the seat of Ragunda Municipality in Jämtland County, Sweden with 1,061 inhabitants in 2005. The town is host to a bobsleigh and luge track...
, now turned into a hydroelectric power station. http://www.ragunda.se/engelskversion/oururbanareas.4.1493102f93cc527677fff2613.html http://www.ragunda.se/sprak/inenglish/whattodo/deadfalls.4.1493102faeec674fc7fff1083.html
Until 1796 varve
Varve
A varve is an annual layer of sediment or sedimentary rock.The word 'varve' is derived from the Swedish word varv whose meanings and connotations include 'revolution', 'in layers', and 'circle'. The term first appeared as Hvarfig lera on the first map produced by the Geological Survey of Sweden in...
d sediment was accumulating on the bottom of Ragundasjön. That gives geologists an exact date for the last varve there; see Varve
Varve
A varve is an annual layer of sediment or sedimentary rock.The word 'varve' is derived from the Swedish word varv whose meanings and connotations include 'revolution', 'in layers', and 'circle'. The term first appeared as Hvarfig lera on the first map produced by the Geological Survey of Sweden in...
for dating by counting varves.
Heritage
Today Döda Fallet is a nature reserveNature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
and one of the major tourist attraction
Tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities....
s of the municipality. Every year there is a play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
commemorating what happened in the spring of 1796. Magnus Huss is remembered by a statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
in the small nearby town of Hammarstrand
Hammarstrand
Hammarstrand is a locality and the seat of Ragunda Municipality in Jämtland County, Sweden with 1,061 inhabitants in 2005. The town is host to a bobsleigh and luge track...
, which was constructed on the former lake bed of Ragundasjön. Döda Fallet is also listed in Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
s Natural wonders of the World.