river, or for short, is a

spring creek A spring creek is a type of free flowing river whose name derives from its origin: an underground Spring (hydrology), spring or set of springs which produces sufficient water to consistently feed a unique river. The water flowing in a spring cree ...

in the

Blönduhlíð Blönduhlíð is a district in Iceland in eastern Skagafjörður that lies along the Héraðsvötn river. It spans the area from the Bóluá river in the south of and the Kyrfisá river to the north. Brekknapláss is the outermost part of in , ...

district of

Skagafjörður Skagafjörður () is a deep fjord and its valley in northern Iceland. Location Skagafjörður, the fjord, is about 40 km long and 15 km wide, situated between Tröllaskagi to the east and the Skagi, Skagi Peninsula to the west. Ther ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. It originates in valley, which runs deep into the eastern

Tröllaskagi Tröllaskagi () is a peninsula in northern Iceland on the Greenland Sea, between the fjords of Eyjafjörður and Skagafjörður. The peninsula is mountainous, with several peaks reaching over 1,000 meters above sea level, the tallest being Kerlin ...

mountain range. It is south of

Glóðafeykir is a mountain in eastern Skagafjörður, Iceland in the middle of the Blönduhlíð mountain range, directly opposite Varmahlíð. Its shape is gabled and it is rather striking. The mountain is rocky towards the top, but is still fairly easy to ...

and south of the river the valley is named after, Akradalur valley, which belongs to Stóru-Akrar. The valley forks at Tungufjall mountain where the river flows into the from the northeast. The river's source is in the lakes, at around an altitude of 900 meters. The mouth of the river, right next to the

Djúpidalur is a farm in the Blönduhlíð district of Skagafjörður, Iceland located in the mouth of Dalsdalur valley, which runs eastward and is located south of Glóðafeykir mountain. The valley branches around Tungufjall mountain (one of three mount ...

farm in the middle of the valley, flows into a deep gorge and, where the valley ends, the river creates expansive, triangular,

sandbars In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or ...

that are stony with thick patches of vegetation. The river has continuously meandered back and forth around the sandbars and divided the channel, however there is now a levee at the riverbed's southernmost sandbars, between the and Minni-Akrar farms. In July 1954, when northern Iceland was beset by heavy rains resulting in

landslides Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslide ...

that caused a lot of damage to the Ytri-Kot and Fremri-Kot farms, the river was dammed by landslides at the opening of Dalsdalur, but the river ultimately broke through the dam, causing a

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice and snow. Flash f ...

that rushed over many of the sandbars and damaged a lot of plants and fences. In 1246, the

Battle of Haugsnes The Battle of Haugsnes () was fought at Haugsnes, a low peninsula south of Flugumýri in Skagafjörður, Northern Iceland. The battle took place on April 19, 1246 between the forces of Þórður kakali Sighvatsson and those of Brandur Kolbeinsso ...

was fought on the sandbars of . The river used to flow much further out than it does now, so the battlefield is now located south of the river.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Iceland Skagafjörður