Sights of East Iceland. Vatnajökull glacier in Iceland

Blue icelandic glaciers business card this extraordinary northern country, 8 percent of whose territory is covered with ice. The unusual local relief is explained by the action of underground volcanoes that erupted under the surface of melting ice.

(Total 19 photos)

1. Vatnajökull is the most big glacier in Iceland, located in the southwest of the island.

2. Photographer Radner Sigurdsson says: “In 2008, this glacier became part of the Vatnajökull National Park. Nearby is Jokulsarlon, the largest glacial lagoon in Iceland.

3. Jokulsarlon developed into a lagoon after the glacier began to recede from the shore Atlantic Ocean. The lake grew in size when the glaciers began to melt more actively. Radner Sigurdsson says: “The size of the lagoon has quadrupled since the 1970s. She is considered one of natural wonders the world of Iceland.

4. One of the main business cards of Iceland is the area surrounding Vatnajökull. A number of scenes from the two films of the world-famous James Bond film saga A View to a Kill (1985), Die Another Day (2002) were filmed here, as well as the filming of Batman Begins (2005) and "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" (2001). Lake Fjaldsaurloun is located south of Vatnajökull. Icebergs drift on the surface of the lake. Tourists drop in here less often than on the Jokulsarlon glacier, but the scenery here is truly amazing.

5. This place - real paradise for photographers. Tourism brings Iceland more than 30 percent of the total income of this country. Expeditions and excursions in national parks for those who want to admire icebergs are held regularly, tourists are assisted by an experienced guide.

6. “Some of the icebergs in the Jokulsarlon ice lagoon are really huge,” says Radner Sigurdsson. “Floating icebergs melt and move, making loud noises and causing waves. There are also melting icebergs in coastal areas national park Breiðamerkurfjara, from which pieces of ice constantly break off and fall into the water of the lake.

7. Since the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption, Iceland and its volcanoes have become widely known around the world, especially among amateurs air species transport, Radner Sigurdsson laughs. “This area is still covered in ash from the Eyjafjallajökull eruption. And besides, the whole amazing relief of Iceland is explained by the eruptions of underground volcanoes that occur under the ice cover.

8. Formation from hyaloclastite on the Hagafelsjökull glacier.

9. Volcanic ash covers an iceberg.

10. Arctic terns feed on krill and capelin in the Breiðamerkurjökull lagoon.

11. View of the lagoons from Mount Kverkfjoll, near the glacier of the same name.

12. Cracks in the Sidujokull glacier.

13. Moss and ice - this is how the Sidujokull glacier looks like, whose age is more than a hundred years.

14. Tourist boat in the Jokulsarlon lagoon.

60 km².

Due to geothermal activity, meltwater accumulates under glaciers, which can lead to flash floods glacial lakes called isl. jökullhlaup "yökullhlaup".

The probability of "jokudlhlaups" increases significantly when the volcanic activity under the glacier. An explosion (rapid vaporization) of subglacial waters that have fallen into a hot zone, in turn, can provoke a volcanic eruption.

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An excerpt characterizing the Glaciers of Iceland

pierre in Lately I rarely saw my wife face to face. Both in St. Petersburg and in Moscow, their house was constantly full of guests. The next night after the duel, as he often did, he did not go to the bedroom, but remained in his huge, father's study, in the very one in which Count Bezuhy died.
He lay down on the sofa and wanted to fall asleep in order to forget everything that had happened to him, but he could not do it. Such a storm of feelings, thoughts, memories suddenly arose in his soul that he not only could not sleep, but could not sit still and had to jump up from the sofa and walk around the room with quick steps. Then he imagined her for the first time after her marriage, with bare shoulders and a tired, passionate look, and immediately next to her he saw Dolokhov’s beautiful, insolent and firmly mocking face, as it was at dinner, and the same face of Dolokhov, pale, trembling and suffering as it was when he turned and fell into the snow.
“What happened? he asked himself. “I killed my lover, yes, I killed my wife's lover. Yes, it was. From what? How did I get there? “Because you married her,” answered the inner voice.
“But what is my fault? he asked. “In the fact that you married without loving her, in the fact that you deceived both yourself and her,” and he vividly imagined that minute after dinner at Prince Vasily’s, when he said these words that did not come out of him: “Je vous aime.” [I love you.] Everything from this! I felt then, he thought, I felt then that it was not that I had no right to it. And so it happened." He remembered Honeymoon and blushed at the memory. Particularly vivid, insulting and shameful for him was the memory of how one day, shortly after his marriage, at 12 o'clock in the afternoon, in a silk dressing gown, he came from the bedroom to the office, and in the office found the chief manager, who bowed respectfully, looked at Pierre's face, on his dressing gown and smiled slightly, as if expressing with this smile respectful sympathy for the happiness of his principal.
“And how many times have I been proud of her, proud of her majestic beauty, her worldly tact,” he thought; he was proud of his home, in which she received all of Petersburg, was proud of her inaccessibility and beauty. So what am I proud of? At the time I thought I didn't understand her. How often, pondering her character, I said to myself that it was my fault that I did not understand her, that I did not understand this eternal calmness, contentment and absence of any predilections and desires, and the whole clue was in that terrible word that she was a depraved woman: yourself this terrible word, and everything became clear!
“Anatole went to her to borrow money from her and kissed her bare shoulders. She didn't give him money, but she let him kiss her. Her father jokingly aroused her jealousy; she said with a calm smile that she was not so stupid as to be jealous: let her do what she wants, she said about me. I asked her once if she felt any signs of pregnancy. She laughed contemptuously and said that she was not a fool to want to have children, and that she would not have children from me.
Then he remembered the coarseness, the clarity of her thoughts and the vulgarity of her expressions, despite her upbringing in the highest aristocratic circle. "I'm not some kind of fool ... go and try it yourself ... allez vous promener," [get out,] she said. Often, looking at her success in the eyes of old and young men and women, Pierre could not understand why he did not love her. Yes, I never loved her, Pierre said to himself; I knew she was a depraved woman, he repeated to himself, but he did not dare to admit it.

Hekla Volcano, also called the "Gate to Hell" is an active stratovolcano.

The oldest recorded eruption of Hekla occurred in 1104, but scientists know for sure that it has been active for at least 6600 years.

length mountain range, which includes the volcano Hekla, is 40 kilometers. And the most active part of the volcano is a crack in rock 5.5 kilometers long. The volcano got its name - Hekla - because its top is almost always covered with clouds - as if with a cloak, because the literal translation of Hekla is a short cloak with a hood.

His middle name - "Gate to Hell" - Hekla received from the monks. So, in a poem by the monk Benedita from 1120 about the adventures of St. Brendan, the volcano is mentioned as the prison of Judas. And in the 16th century, Caspar Peucer wrote that the gates of hell could be found in the bottomless chambers of the Hekla volcano, and the belief that Hekla was the gate to hell persisted until 1800. There is another story that says that witches gather here every Easter.

Over the past 900 years, over 20 strong eruptions volcano Hekla. Last eruption The volcano was registered on February 28, 2000.

Vatnajökull Glacier

The blue Icelandic glaciers are the hallmark of this extraordinary northern country. Well, the Vatnajökull glacier is one of the largest not only in Iceland, but also in Europe. The unusual local relief is explained by the action of underground volcanoes that erupted right under the ice surface.

The landscapes of the glacier are really stunningly beautiful and are fertile ground for amateur photographers. In addition, the line of sight on the glacier is one of the largest and is even listed in the Guinness Book of Records. The view opens up to 550 meters.

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Tjorsardalur Valley

The Tjorsardalur valley impresses with its diversity of landscape and richness of colors.

One has only to see this picturesque picture once to fall in love with it forever. Against the backdrop of sandy lava fields, the greenery of dwarf birches looks contrasting, and local rivers and waterfalls add all shades of blue to this natural idyll, which makes the Tjorsardalur valley unimaginably beautiful.

Here flows the most long river in Iceland - Tjorsau, it is the most important source of electricity in the country.

In addition, it is from the Tjorsardalur valley that you can see the most active volcano in Iceland - Hekla. By the way, in 1104, after the end of the period of settlement of the island, the volcano woke up without warning and wiped out 20 farms in the Tjorsardalur valley.

Laigardalur Valley - everyone's favorite park family vacation and entertainment.

On the territory of Leigardalur there is a large open pool, you can swim in it all year round thanks to thermal springs. In addition, Reykjavik's main sports stadium and the Laugarsholla sports and exhibition center are located in the park. Here everyone will find something to their liking: walking and jogging paths, open football fields And indoor ice rink. A botanical park, a zoo and an amusement park will delight young travelers.

Hofsjokull Glacier

Hofsjokull is the third largest glacier in Iceland (after Vatnajokull and Laundokudl). It covers 996 km² and has a volume of 208 km³ and is the largest active volcano on the island. The highest point of the glacier is located at an altitude of 1765 meters above sea level.

From this glacier originate the rivers Thjoursau (the longest river in Iceland), Blandau and Hvitau (a tributary of the Yolfusa River), rich in hydropower resources.

The Hofsjökull ice dome has a diameter of almost 40 kilometers! Its largest basin is 7x11 kilometers in size, but besides it, the glacier has a number of volcanic outcrops. Fumarolic activity concentrated in the middle part of the complex is the strongest on the island, in other words, while the volcano is dormant, it releases the largest number water vapor and other gases into the atmosphere from all available glaciers in Iceland.

Mineral Museum of Petra

Since 1946, Petra's house in Stødvarfjordur has housed her collection of minerals. Petra began collecting minerals as a child. Fortunately, this area is very rich in them, some stones from the collection of Petra are 10 thousand years old. From year to year, she replenished her museum with new stones, and now all these lovingly collected minerals can be seen in Stødvarfjordur.

The minerals collected by Petra constitute one of the most magnificent and largest private collections in the world.

The Petra Museum is visited annually by about 20 thousand tourists, and Petra herself has not lived in her house for a long time, but comes here once a week to chat with visitors.

Waterfall Hafragilsfoss

Hafragilsfoss is one of the largest waterfalls in the mountain ice river Jö kuls Fjö llum. The waterfall falls with a huge crash from a height of 27 meters (89 feet) and is about 90 meters (300 feet) wide.

You can see the waterfall from both sides of the river, but the east side is more accessible and more good review. To see the waterfall from the west side of the river, you must first have a little adventure and overcome steep climbs with the help of several rope ladders.

The view from here is very picturesque, so if travelers are close to this place, they definitely visit this waterfall either on their own or as part of excursions.

The most popular attractions in East Iceland with descriptions and photos for every taste. choose best places for visiting famous places East Iceland on our website.

Iceland is full of great places which are definitely worth a visit when traveling around the country. In this selection you will find the 10 most famous attractions in Iceland, while in Iceland, the most visited by tourists. Among these great places, Certainly, Blue Lagoon, waterfalls, mountains, fjords, glaciers and many other interesting things.

Asbirgi Canyon

Asbirgi Canyon is considered one of Iceland's natural wonders. This miracle of nature is a 3.5 km long canyon with walls up to 100 meters high. Asbirgi occupies the most northern part Jokalsarglufur National Park.

Glaciers of Iceland

Perhaps Iceland's most famous attraction is its glaciers. Almost all types of glaciers can be found here, from small amphitheater glaciers to vast vast massifs.

Glacial Fjords - Jokulfirdir

The Westfjords are not the hottest area in Iceland. There are no active volcanoes, but there are geothermal fields in some places. On high plains in the eastern part of the region there is also the Drangajokull glacier.

Glacier Lagoon - Jokulsarlon

Glacier Lagoon, a glacial river lagoon in Iceland, is part of one of the most short rivers in the country - Jokulsa, the length of which is only 1500 meters.

Geysers Gullfoss and Geysir

Geysir is the most famous area of ​​geysers, including Geysir and his little brother Strokkur. A beautiful attraction here is Gullfoss, huge waterfall in the canyon, falling from a height of 32 meters.

Muwatn

The natural beauty of the local landscapes is special, which is why it attracts a flow of tourists in summer, although Muvatn is no less beautiful in winter. Popular attractions are the lava formations at Dimmuborgir, Hverfjall, Krafla and the geothermal area east of Namaskardur. Lake Myvatn is famous for its fishing and one of the best salmon in Iceland.

Skaftafell

Skaftafel covers an area of ​​approximately 1,600 sq. km, which spreads along the three glaciers of the Skeidararjokull, Morsarjokull and Skaftafellsjokull valley, the largest glacier in Europe. It is also worth paying attention to the Skaftafell ice caves, which were written about separately here.

South coast Iceland

After leaving Reykjavik, you first need to cross mountain range to get on the broad planes of the south. In good weather, you will see dozens of miles of mountain cliffs and majestic glaciers covering two volcanoes. You can read about the sights of Reykjavik in a separate feed on the site pages.

Westman Islands

These islands are known because they are active volcanoes. The islands are located in the active volcanic area, which erupted in last time during the Heimaey eruption in 1973. The Westman Islands are a group of 15 steep and rocky islands.

Thingvellir

The only place in the world where you can easily see how the tectonic plates move relative to each other, you can stand on the American tectonic plate and look beyond the European tectonic plate. This is the only place in the world to see this above sea level.

Vatnajokull is the largest glacier in Europe, which is located on the territory of the national park of the same name in Iceland. total area The glacier is 8.1 km², which is about 8% of the entire territory of Iceland. Ice thickness averages 400 meters, and in some places reaches 1100 meters. According to scientists, this block contains 3.5 thousand km3 of ice.

This place boasts unique glacial landscapes with snow-covered valleys and gorges. The ice sheet rises 1400-1800 meters above sea level. No glacier in Iceland has been explored as thoroughly as Vatnajökull. The study began in 1934, when an eruption occurred in the region of the glacier, and since then the Glaciological Society (founded in 1950) has continued to study the glacier year after year. Latest major eruption happened in 1996 and 1998. The first documented trip to the top of a glacier south side and back took place in 1875. An Englishman and several Icelanders took part in the ascent. They were the first to see the Askjai eruption, in the same year they reported it to people living on Lake Myvatn.

The name of the Vatnajokull glacier is translated as “giving water”, and all because it feeds many Icelandic rivers and lakes with water. For example, it forms the Jokulsau-au-Vedm River, which is famous for giving life powerful waterfall in Europe - Dettifoss.

WITH close range the glacier looks like an endless snow-covered field, and if you climb it highest point, you can see the ocean expanses and Mountain peaks deep in the island.

Under a thick layer of ice are several volcanoes, which sometimes make themselves felt. When red-hot lava splashes out of the mouth of the volcano, it leads to rapid melting. large areas glacier. Melting ice frees the land for grazing. In 2004, there was a significant eruption of one of the volcanoes - Grimsvotna.

In addition to volcanoes, hot springs lying in the region of the Kverkfjöll mountain range also adversely affect ice sheets. Hot water and steam cut out entire labyrinths of ice caves from the thickness of the ice.

Vatnajökull National Park was founded on June 7, 2008 and includes the glacier areas and two other nature reserves Jökulsargluvur and Skaftafell. Today, the glacier is one of the most visited attractions in Iceland. Here, travelers can walk around its surroundings, as well as go skiing and snowboarding.

Vatnajökull National Park covers 13% of the entire area of ​​Iceland. The park showcases a stunning diversity of landscape shaped by the mighty forces of nature.