The Brennisteinsalda () is a

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 ...

in the south of

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 s ...

. Its height is about 855 m. It is situated near

Landmannalaugar Landmannalaugar () is a location in Iceland's Fjallabak Nature Reserve in the Highlands. It is at the edge of the Laugahraun lava field, formed in an eruption in approximately 1477. It is known for its natural geothermal hot springs and ...

and not far from

Hekla Hekla (), or Hecla, is a stratovolcano in the south of Iceland with a height of . Hekla is one of Iceland's most active volcanoes; over 20 eruptions have occurred in and around the volcano since 874. During the Middle Ages, the Icelandic Norse ...

. The name means in English: ''sulphur wave''. It comes from the

sulphur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...

spots which have coloured its sides. But there are other colours, too: green from mosses, black and blue from

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

and ashes, red from

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

in the earth. It could very well be the most colourful mountain of Iceland and so its picture is often found in books and calendars. The mountain is still visibly an active volcano with hot sulphur springs and vapour at its sides. The hiking trail ''Laugavegur'' passes by. In front of it there is an

obsidian Obsidian () is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Obsidian is produced from felsic lava, rich in the lighter elements s ...

lava field. Landmannalaugar Iceland 2005 2.JPG, Landmannalaugar {{IPA-is, ˈlantˌmanːaˌlœiːɣar̥} region

External links

Photo, parts of the mountain with the hiking trail Laugarvegur in the foreground Photo of Brennisteinsalda
Stratovolcanoes of Iceland Mountains of Iceland Active volcanoes East Volcanic Zone of Iceland