Mýrdalssandur () is an

outwash plain An outwash plain, also called a sandur (plural: ''sandurs''), sandr or sandar, is a plain formed of glaciofluvial deposits due to meltwater outwash at the terminus of a glacier. As it flows, the glacier grinds the underlying rock surface and ca ...

on the south coast 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 ...

Location and description

The outwash plain is located between the rivers of

Kúðafljót The Kúðafljót () is a river in the south of Iceland. It is one of the largest glacier rivers in the country. Name The ''Landnámabók'' reports that the name is from the ship of Vilbald, one of the first settlers in Skaftátunga. The name of ...

in the east and Múlakvísl in the west. Both rivers carry water from the

Mýrdalsjökull Mýrdalsjökull (pronounced , Icelandic for "(the) mire dale glacier" or "(the) mire valley glacier") is an ice cap in the south of Iceland. It is to the north of Vík í Mýrdal and to the east of the smaller ice cap Eyjafjallajökull. Between ...

glacier to the sea. Mýrdalssandur has a -long coast line, including Kötlutangi , the southernmost point of the island of Iceland. The

Ring Road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

crosses this flat surface on .

Development

The outwash plain was built by the numerous

jökulhlaup A jökulhlaup ( ) (literally "glacial run") is a type of glacial outburst flood. It is an Icelandic term that has been adopted in glaciological terminology in many languages. It originally referred to the well-known subglacial outburst flood ...

s of the

. The last large jökulhlaup was due to an explosive eruption of the Katla volcano under the glacier in 1918, and the water volume at the peak of the jökulhlaup was estimated to be around 200,000 - 300,000 m³/s.

History of settlements

South of the road rises Hjörleifshöfði to a height of . The mountain is named after

Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson Hjǫrleifr Hróðmarsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; Modern Norwegian: ) was an early settler in Iceland. The story of the early settlement of Iceland is told in the compilation known as ''Landnámabók.'' Hjörleifr was the blood brother o ...

. He was the first settler to come to Iceland with

Ingólfr Arnarson Ingólfr Arnarson, in some sources named Bjǫrnólfsson, ( – ) is commonly recognized as the first permanent Norse settler of Iceland, together with his wife and foster brother Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson. According to tradition, they settled ...

. In the Middle Ages there was a fishing lake called Kerlingarfjörður at the mouth of the Múlakvísl. Probably it was not a fjord, but rather an extension of a river mouth. The name (isl. Kerling = the old woman) was created according to the land register book, after an old woman had fallen overboard from one of the settler ships and was carried away by the water. Around the year 1000 many farms seem to have found themselves on the Mýrdalssandur. Sources mention four parishes in . These farms were, however, were mostly abandoned up to the 15th century, as a result of volcanic eruptions of the Katla, subsequent glacier runs and ashfall. At the beginning of the 21st century, some farms still exist in Álftaver.

Þykkvabær Monastery

In 1168 a monks' monastery of the

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

s was founded in the Þykkvabær í Veri on the Mýrdalssandur. The name was then changed to and the first abbot there was

Saint Thorlak Thorlak Thorhallsson ( Icelandic: ''Þorlákur Þórhallsson''; 1133 – 23 December 1193) is the patron saint of Iceland. He was bishop of Skálholt from 1178 until his death. Thorlak's relics were translated to the cathedral of Skalholt in 11 ...

. He was later bishop in

Skálholt Skálholt (Modern Icelandic: ; non, Skálaholt ) is a historical site in the south of Iceland, at the river Hvítá. History Skálholt was, through eight centuries, one of the most important places in Iceland. A bishopric was established in Sk� ...

and some of his successors were either bishops there or in

Hólar Hólar (; also Hólar í Hjaltadal ) is a small community in the Skagafjörður district of northern Iceland. Location Hólar is in the Hjaltadalur valley, some from the national capital of Reykjavík. It has a population of around 100. It is th ...

. In 1550, with the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, the

King of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous administrative division, autonomous territories of the Faroe ...

took over the monastery with all its possessions. The monastery was dissolved, but it still existed for a long time as a rich farm until it was finally abandoned in 1945.

In popular culture

The area was used as a

filming location A filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced, in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a movie studio backlot or soundstage. In filmmaking, a location is any place where a film crew wil ...

for the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' spinoff film ''

Rogue One ''Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (or simply ''Rogue One'') is a 2016 American epic space opera film directed by Gareth Edwards. The screenplay by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy is from a story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta. It was produced by Luc ...

'', representing the planet Lah'mu in the opening scenes of the film.

References