The Krimml Waterfalls (German: Krimmler Wasserfälle) or waterfalls of Krimml, with a total height of 380 metres (1,247 feet), form the highest waterfall in Austria.[1] The falls are formed from the Krimmler Ache river and are located near the village of Krimml in the High Tauern National Park in Salzburgerland.
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Krimmler Wasserfälle is a tiered waterfall. The waterfall begins at the Krimmler Ache at the top of the Krimmler Achendal, and plunges downward in three stages. The upper stage has a drop of 140 metres, the middle of 100 metres, and the lowest a drop of 140 metres.[2]
The Krimmler Ache is a glacial stream whose flow varies greatly with season. 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 25 August 1987, when it was 600,000 m³/h, or almost 160 million gallons per hour.
After the falls, the river joins the Salzach, which flows to the Inn, then into the Danube River and finally to the Black Sea.
To ensure that tourists could see more of the waterfall without difficulty, Ignaz von Kürsinger, from Mittersill, created a path to the upper part of the waterfall. In 1879, the Austrian Alpine Club 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.