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Þórisvatn
Þórisvatn (; sometimes anglicized to Thorisvatn) is the largest lake of Iceland, situated at the south end of Sprengisandur highland road within the highlands of Iceland. It is a reservoir of a surface about 88 km2 and uses the energy of the river Þjórsá, which comes down from the glacier Hofsjökull. Here in the south, it is exploited in a power station. It is like other Icelandic lakes, which are mostly glacial lakes or volcanic lakes, it normally has a stark green color. See also *List of lakes of Iceland *Geography of Iceland Iceland ( ) is an island country at the confluence of the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, east of Greenland and immediately south of the Arctic Circle, atop the constructive boundary of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge about from Scotland and ... References External links Photo Highlands of Iceland Lakes of Iceland Rift lakes of Iceland {{iceland-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Lakes Of Iceland
This is a list of lakes of Iceland (partially indicating surface, depth and volume). Iceland has over 20 lakes larger than 10 km² (4 sq mi), and at least 40 others varying between 2.5 and 10 km² (1 to 4 sq mi) in size. This list also includes a few smaller lakes and ponds that are considered notable (for example Tjörnin in Reykjavik). The figures for many of the smaller lakes are unreliable. Also, some larger lakes vary considerably in size between years or seasons or, for the reservoirs, according to the needs of power plants. Some power plant reservoirs may not be present despite being larger than listed lakes. Larger lakes (>10 km²) Smaller lakes (90 m (sensitive to climatic and geological change and was getting smaller - started recovering again in 2004) * Breiðárlón, 8 km² ? * Reyðarvatn, 8.3 km² * Hítarvatn, 7.6 km², 24 m * Miklavatn, 6.6 km², 23 m * Árneslón, 6.5 km², 116 * Sigríðarstaðavatn, 6.2 km² * Lax ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its surrounding areas) is home to over 65% of the population. Iceland is the biggest part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that rises above sea level, and its central volcanic plateau is erupting almost constantly. The interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains, and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. Its high latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, and most of its islands have a polar climate. According to the ancient manuscript , the settlement of Iceland began in 874 AD when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson became the first p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lakes Of Iceland
This is a list of lakes of Iceland (partially indicating surface, depth and volume). Iceland has over 20 lakes larger than 10 km² (4 sq mi), and at least 40 others varying between 2.5 and 10 km² (1 to 4 sq mi) in size. This list also includes a few smaller lakes and ponds that are considered notable (for example Tjörnin in Reykjavik). The figures for many of the smaller lakes are unreliable. Also, some larger lakes vary considerably in size between years or seasons or, for the reservoirs, according to the needs of power plants. Some power plant reservoirs may not be present despite being larger than listed lakes. Larger lakes (>10 km²) Smaller lakes (90 m (sensitive to climatic and geological change and was getting smaller - started recovering again in 2004) * Breiðárlón, 8 km² ? * Reyðarvatn, 8.3 km² * Hítarvatn, 7.6 km², 24 m * Miklavatn, 6.6 km², 23 m * Árneslón, 6.5 km², 116 * Sigríðarstaðavatn, 6.2 km² * Lax ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Þjórsá
Þjórsá () is Iceland's longest river at 230 kilometers (about 143 miles). It is in the south of the island. Þjórsá is a glacier river and has its source on the glacier Hofsjökull. It flows out through narrow gorges in the highlands of Iceland. Further downstream, another river, the Tungnaá, flows into it (see also Háifoss), before it enters the lowlands. There it passes the valley of Þjórsárdalur (Thjorsardalur) where the historical farm of Stöng is located. In the lowlands it flows along the eastern border of the Great Þjórsá Lava. In the middle of the now rather wide river, there is a big island called ''Árnes'', where there used to be a '' Þing''. The administrative unit of Árnessýsla was named after it. The ''hringvegur'' (Road No.1) traverses the river via a bridge between Selfoss and Hella. Some kilometers to the southwest the river flows into the Atlantic Ocean. 'Á' signifies river while 'þjór' means bull and is cognate to Danish - tyr, Swedish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sprengisandur
Sprengisandur () is a highland plateau in Iceland, defined roughly as the area between the Hofsjökull and Vatnajökull glaciers. History and etymology Like Kjölur and Kaldidalur, Sprengisandur is an ancient pass - during the time of the Icelandic Free State (ca. 930–1265) it was one of the several important north–south routes that connected remote regions of the island to the Plains of the Parliament, Þingvellir, where the yearly parliament, Alþingi, was held each year at midsummer. In the sagas of Icelanders it is often called simply ''Sandr'' "Sand" or ''Sandleið'', "Sand trail". At its southern end, it was joined with another such route, Fjallabaksvegur nyrðri, running west from Landmannalaugar mountain hot springs area. Sprengisandur is only accessible during summer - like other parts of the inner desert, it is impassable in winter because of the snow, and in spring because of floods. While being the shortest way to the Alþingi for some Icelanders, for example ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Highlands Of Iceland
The Highlands of Iceland ( is, hálendið ) are a sparsely inhabited plateau that covers most of the interior of Iceland. They are situated above 400–500 metres (1300–1600 feet) and are mostly an uninhabitable volcanic desert, because the water precipitating as rain or snow infiltrates so quickly into the ground that it is unavailable for plant growth. This results largely in a surface of grey, black or brown earth, lava and volcanic ashes. A few oasis-like areas, such as Herðubreiðarlindir near Askja, are found only in proximity to rivers. Icelanders categorise the Highlands as: * "Háls", meaning a broad mountain ridge between valleys, such as the one near Langavatn north of Borgarnes; or * "Heiði", meaning the real highlands, such as those alongside the Sprengisandur road. Most of the numerous glaciers, such as Vatnajökull, Langjökull and Hofsjökull, are also part of the Icelandic Highlands. Vegetation is only found on the shores of the glacier rivers. There is al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of water, interrupting a watercourse to form an embayment within it, through excavation, or building any number of retaining walls or levees. In other contexts, "reservoirs" may refer to storage spaces for various fluids; they may hold liquids or gasses, including hydrocarbons. ''Tank reservoirs'' store these in ground-level, elevated, or buried tanks. Tank reservoirs for water are also called cisterns. Most underground reservoirs are used to store liquids, principally either water or petroleum. Types Dammed valleys Dammed reservoirs are artificial lakes created and controlled by a dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as Crevasse, crevasses and Serac, seracs, as it slowly flows and deforms under stresses induced by its weight. As it moves, it abrades rock and debris from its substrate to create landforms such as cirques, moraines, or fjords. Although a glacier may flow into a body of water, it forms only on land and is distinct from the much thinner sea ice and lake ice that form on the surface of bodies of water. On Earth, 99% of glacial ice is contained within vast ice sheets (also known as "continental glaciers") in the polar regions, but glaciers may be found in mountain ranges on every continent other than the Australian mainland, including Oceania's high-latitude oceanic island countries such as New Zealand. Between lati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hofsjökull
__NOTOC__ Hofsjökull ( Icelandic: "temple glacier", ) is the third largest ice cap in Iceland after Vatnajökull and Langjökull and the largest active volcano in the country. It is situated in the west of the Highlands of Iceland and north of the mountain range Kerlingarfjöll, between the two largest glaciers of Iceland. It covers an area of 925 km2, reaching at its summit. The subglacial volcano is a shield type with caldera. Hofsjökull is the source of several rivers including the Þjórsá, Iceland's longest river. In the southeast of Iceland, between the easternmost glacier tongue of Vatnajökull (Axajökull) and Þrándarjökull, there is a smaller glacier (area about 4 km2), which is also called Hofsjökull. In 2015, Hofsjökull increased in mass, the first time in 20 years this had happened. See also * Glaciers of Iceland * Iceland plume * List of volcanoes in Iceland Notes References * External links Hofsjökullin the Catalogue of Icelandic Volcano ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Volcano
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging, and most are found underwater. For example, a mid-ocean ridge, such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, has volcanoes caused by divergent tectonic plates whereas the Pacific Ring of Fire has volcanoes caused by convergent tectonic plates. Volcanoes can also form where there is stretching and thinning of the crust's plates, such as in the East African Rift and the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field and Rio Grande rift in North America. Volcanism away from plate boundaries has been postulated to arise from upwelling diapirs from the core–mantle boundary, deep in the Earth. This results in hotspot volcanism, of which the Hawaiian hotspot is an example. Volcanoes are usually not created where two tectonic plates slide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geography Of Iceland
Iceland ( ) is an island country at the confluence of the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, east of Greenland and immediately south of the Arctic Circle, atop the constructive boundary of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge about from Scotland and from New York City. One of the world's most sparsely populated countries, Iceland's boundaries are almost the same as the main island – the world's 18th largest in area and possessing almost all of the country's area and population and also it is world's 9th largest island country. It is the westernmost European country and has more land covered by glaciers than in all of continental Europe. The total size is . It has an exclusive economic zone of . Statistics Iceland is an island country in Northern Europe, straddling the Eurasian and North American plates between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the British Isles. Extent (locations outside mainland in parentheses) :North: Rifstangi, 66°32′3" N ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Highlands Of Iceland
The Highlands of Iceland ( is, hálendið ) are a sparsely inhabited plateau that covers most of the interior of Iceland. They are situated above 400–500 metres (1300–1600 feet) and are mostly an uninhabitable volcanic desert, because the water precipitating as rain or snow infiltrates so quickly into the ground that it is unavailable for plant growth. This results largely in a surface of grey, black or brown earth, lava and volcanic ashes. A few oasis-like areas, such as Herðubreiðarlindir near Askja, are found only in proximity to rivers. Icelanders categorise the Highlands as: * "Háls", meaning a broad mountain ridge between valleys, such as the one near Langavatn north of Borgarnes; or * "Heiði", meaning the real highlands, such as those alongside the Sprengisandur road. Most of the numerous glaciers, such as Vatnajökull, Langjökull and Hofsjökull, are also part of the Icelandic Highlands. Vegetation is only found on the shores of the glacier rivers. There is al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
