The four primary stops on the route are The town of Húsavík, Ásbyrgi Canyon, Lake Mývatn and Dettifoss Waterfall, the most powerful waterfall in Europe.
Jökulsá á Fjöllum streams over the waterfalls Selfoss, Dettifoss, and Hafragilsfoss, the second of which is the most powerful waterfall in Europe, and through the canyon at Jökulsárgljúfur National Park, which was formed by the explosion of a volcano situated directly beneath the river.
It is located on the west bank of the glacial river Jökulsá á Fjöllum, and extends 30 km northwards from Dettifoss waterfall, covering 120 km².
Both Rhine Falls and Dettifoss claim to be the largest and most powerful waterfall in Europe, but while those waterfalls have between 200 and 500 m³/s of average water flow, Sarpsfossen has approximately 577 m³/s.
Magnason argues in the book that in order to accomplish this, the majority of Iceland's rivers would need to be exploited, with the consequence that some of Iceland's most known waterfalls such as Dettifoss which is Europe's most powerful waterfall, and Gullfoss which together with Thingvellir and Geyser makes up the golden circle.