Kjölur () is a plateau in the

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 wa ...

, roughly defined as the area between the

Langjökull Langjökull (, Icelandic for "long glacier") is the second largest ice cap in Iceland (953 km2), after Vatnajökull. It is situated in the west of the Icelandic interior or Highlands of Iceland and can be seen clearly from Haukadalur. Its ...

and

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 ...

glaciers. It lies at an elevation of about 600–700 metres.

Geography

At the northern end of the Kjölur road, near the headwaters of the

Blanda The Blanda () is a river in Iceland which flows northwards from the northwest side of the Hofsjökull glacier into Húnaflói bay at Blönduós. The Blanda is one of the longest rivers in the country, with a length of about 125 km, and has a ...

river, the

hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

Hveravellir Hveravellir () is a geothermal field (high temperature field) of the Oddnýjarhnjúkur-Langjökull subglacial volcanic system in the north of Langjökull glacier. Description Hveravellir geothermal area is a small nature reserve and a tourist ...

provide a warm

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

. Not far from Hveravellir, the

Kerlingarfjöll Kerlingarfjöll () is a tall mountain range in Iceland situated in the Highlands of Iceland near the Kjölur highland road. They are part of a large tuya volcano system of . The volcanic origin of these mountains is evidenced by the numerous hot ...

, a

volcanic 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 a ...

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

, is situated to the north-east of the Kjölur road.

History

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 Ic ...

highland road, the area was probably known since the first times of Icelandic settlement and is mentioned in the

Icelandic sagas The sagas of Icelanders ( is, Íslendingasögur, ), also known as family sagas, are one genre of Icelandic sagas. They are prose narratives mostly based on historical events that mostly took place in Iceland in the ninth, tenth, and early el ...

. A track along Langjökull was used as a shortcut between regions during summer. This is today known as ''Kjalvegur hinn forni'' (Old Kjalvegur) and is still in use for trekking and

horse-riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

. Piles of stones mark the track through the highland

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

. After some people had perished in a snowstorm by the end of the 18th century, the Kjölur road was forgotten for about 100 years. It was rediscovered in the 19th century. In the 18th century, the Icelandic

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...

Fjalla-Eyvindur Fjalla-Eyvindur ( Icelandic for "Eyvindur of the Mountains"; 1714–1783) was an Icelandic outlaw. He and his wife Halla are reported to have fled into the remote highlands of Iceland after 1760. They lived in the wilderness for 20 years. A hot ...

used the Hveravellir hot springs as a settlement. One of the hot spots in this area is still used for bathing.

Transport

A gravel road known as

Kjalvegur Kjalvegur () is a highland road in Iceland, crossing Kjölur from north to south. History Formerly, the name referred to a horse-track closer to Langjökull, west of the current road. This track now goes by the name ''Kjalvegur hinn forni'' ( ...

(F35) runs through the centre of the area, connecting the Southern Region and Northwestern Region of the country. A few smaller tracks lead from the main track, making

and

accessible by car. Other tracks however, may only be used on foot.

External links

Photos of Hveravellir

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kjolur Plateaus of Iceland West Volcanic Zone of Iceland

Geography

History

Transport

See also

External links