Doda Fallet

Storforsen at Ragunda was one of the great falls of northern Europe until the night of 6 June 1796. A merchant named Magnus Huss was cutting a channel to float timber past the fall; the spring flood took the cut, the loose ground gave way, and Ragundasjon - a lake several kilometres long - emptied through the breach in about four hours, destroying farms downstream and leaving the falls dry. Nobody was killed. What remains is the bare gorge: scoured rock, giant potholes ground out by the old current, and the empty channel, with boardwalks and steps through it and an exhibition on what happened.

Background

The name translates as the dead fall. For thousands of years glacial debris, topped by an esker, dammed the Indalsälven here and held back Ragundasjön, a meltwater lake 25 km long. Its outflow ran round the barrier in a steep rapid called Gedungsen or Storforsen, with a total fall of about 35 meters. Plans for a canal around the rapid go back to 1748; Jacob Stenius finished a survey in 1766, and King Gustav III approved a canal company on 11 July 1779. A first attempt from 1780 failed after two years. In 1793 local peasants formed the Storforsen Company, and by 1795 the canal reached the lake. The water began to cut through at 9 p.m. on 6 June.

Source: Wikipedia, "Döda fallet"

Highlights

• A dry gorge - the riverbed left after 1796.
• Giant potholes - ground out by the vanished current.
• A lake that drained in about four hours - through a cut that failed.
• Boardwalks and steps through the channel - with an exhibition.

When to go

May to September. Two hours.

Before you go

There is no water - the interest is entirely in what is absent. Steps and boardwalks are steep in places. Facilities are seasonal. It is off the main routes and needs a car.

Nearby

Hammarstrand is close; the Thai pavilion at Utanede is nearby.

Key facts