__NOTOC__ Hofsjökull ( Icelandic: "

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

glacier", ) is the third largest ice cap in

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 ...

after

Vatnajökull Vatnajökull ( Icelandic pronunciation: , literally "Glacier of Lakes"; sometimes translated as Vatna Glacier in English) is the largest and most voluminous ice cap in Iceland, and the second largest in area in Europe after the Severny Island i ...

and Langjökull and the largest active volcano in the country. It is situated in the west of 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 ...

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 A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

. Hofsjökull is the source of several rivers including the

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 I ...

, Iceland's longest river. In the southeast of Iceland, between the easternmost glacier tongue of

(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.

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Hofsjökull
in the Catalogue of Icelandic Volcanoes
(Photo)
* Highlands of Iceland Shield volcanoes of Iceland Mid-Iceland Belt Subglacial volcanoes of Iceland Glaciers of Iceland Volcanic systems of Iceland Calderas of Iceland {{Iceland-glacier-stub

See also

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