Austari-Jökulsá (, "easterly glacier river") is a glacial river in the north of Iceland. After the confluence with
Vestari-Jökulsá
Vestari-Jökulsá or Jökulsá vestri (English: Western Glacier River) is a glacier river in Skagafjörður, Iceland. It originates in the northwest corner of Hofsjökull and is formed from many branches that fall together and flow northward. The ...
it forms the
Héraðsvötn
Héraðsvötn (), whose name is often shortened to Vötn or Vötnin (and was called Jökulsá in previous centuries) is a glacier river in Iceland. It is formed by the confluence of Austari-Jökulsá and Vestari-Jökulsá. The Héraðsvötn is ...
.
Name
The name means Eastern Glacial River,
[https://grapevine.is/mads/2017/07/18/river-rafting-up-north-battling-the-beast-of-the-east/ Johanna Eriksson: River rafting up north, battling the beast of the east. In: ''Reykjavík Grapevine'' July 18, 2017. Retrieved: 25 July 2020.] in comparison to the Western Glacial River (Vestari-Jökulsá) which is situated more to the west.
Course of the river
Some glacial outlet streams of the big ice cap
Hofsjökull
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Hofsjökull (Icelandic language, Icelandic: "temple glacier", ) is the third largest ice cap in Iceland after Vatnajökull and Langjökull and covers the largest active central volcano in the country, which has the same name. It is si ...
confluence up in the highland to form the glacial river Austari-Jökulsá. The river discharge is rather important with 60-100 m3/sec in the summer and 20-30 m3/sec in wintertime. A flood went up to 320 m3/sec.
[Íslandshandbókin. Náttura, saga og sérkenni. Reykjavík 1989, p. 369]
Because of this, the river which has no waterfalls had a bad reputation and was/is very difficult to ford.
In 1970, a bridge was built near Laugafell.
Sports
Today, the river with its fierce currents is popular for rafting tours.
References
Rivers of Iceland
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