Ragunda

Ragunda lies in the valley of the Indalsälven in eastern Jämtland. Here the river once flowed through Lake Ragunda and over the great Storforsen waterfall. The falls were a formidable obstacle to the movement of timber downstream, and their disappearance would transform the valley in a single night.

In 1796, workmen attempted to open a channel around Storforsen so that logs could pass without being broken on the rocks. On the night of 6–7 June the loose ground gave way, and Lake Ragunda emptied in a few hours. A flood surged down the Indalsälven, while the old waterfall was left dry. The exposed bed and silent rocks became known as Döda fallet, the Dead Falls, a lasting trace of the attempt to tame the river for the timber trade.