Tindfjallajökull () is a

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

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 ...

. It has erupted rocks of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

ic to

rhyolitic Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained groundmass. The mineral ...

composition, and a 5-km-wide caldera was formed during the eruption of the 54,000-year-old Thórsmörk Ignimbrite. It is capped by a glacier of 19 km².National Land Survey of Iceland (Icelandic)
Its highest peak is Ýmir (1462m),
/ref> which takes its name from the giant Ýmir of Norse mythology. The most recent eruption was at an unknown time in the

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...

. The name means "Tindfjöll glacier". Tindfjöll (, "peak mountains") is a ridge that extends to the south of the glacier. The rivers that flow from the glacier are Hvítmaga to the north-east, Gilsá to the south, Þórólfsá to the south-west, Valá to the north-west and Blesá to the north. Hvítmaga, Gilsá and Þórólfsá drain into

Markarfljót Markarfljót () is a river in the south of Iceland. It is approximately 100 kilometers long. The Markarfljót rises in the Rauðafossafjöll massif, east of the volcano Hekla. The main sources for the river are the glaciers Mýrdalsjökull and ...

while Valá and Blesá drain into Eystri Rangá .

References

External links

Tindfjallajökull
in the

Catalogue of Icelandic Volcanoes Catalog or catalogue may refer to: *Cataloging **'emmy on the 'og **in science and technology *** Library catalog, a catalog of books and other media ****Union catalog, a combined library catalog describing the collections of a number of librarie ...

Map of the area
Stratovolcanoes of Iceland Southern Region (Iceland) East Volcanic Zone of Iceland Glaciers of Iceland Subglacial volcanoes of Iceland Calderas of Iceland Central volcanoes of Iceland Pleistocene stratovolcanoes Pleistocene calderas Ymir {{Iceland-glacier-stub

See also

References

External links