The waterfalls pour into the Hvítá river from ledges of less porous rock in the lava.
There is more than one river called Hvítá in Iceland.
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Hvítá, Borgarfjörður in the west of Iceland, near the Reykholtsdalur (see Hraunfossar),
The river flows for 40 km (25 mi) before dropping down into a narrow gorge at the Gullfoss waterfall.
Skálholt (Old Icelandic: Skálaholt) is a historical site in the south of Iceland, at the river Hvítá.
Hvítá, among many other of the Icelandic glacial rivers, attracts kayakers and river rafters worldwide.
However research has shown that large quantities of water flow in sub-surface streams to lake Þingvallavatn (some 50 km to the south and easily accessible to tourists) and reappear in springs in and around the lake, while the same happens on the west side, giving rise to various tributaries of the Hvítá River as well as some rivers flowing north towards Húnaflói.