The river Elliðaár (, "Elliði's river") is situated in the

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

area in the south-west 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 ...

. Two small rivers have their source in the volcanic mountain range of ''

Bláfjöll Bláfjöll (, "blue mountains") are a small mountain range in the southwest of Iceland on Reykjanes peninsula at about 30 km from Reykjavík. They form sort of a double mountain massif to the west and in the east of JósepsdalurÞór Vigf ...

'' and stream down to

Elliðavatn Elliðavatn (, "Elliði's lake") is a lake in Iceland. It is situated in the area of Reykjavík. Not far from it, there is the well known natural park Heiðmörk with its hiking and biking trails, small forests and lava formations. The eastern s ...

lake at the eastern suburban border of the city, its outlet forming the river. On their way, they pass through the nature reserve area of ''Heiðmörk''. On its way to the sea, which is reached in the Elliðavogur bay in

, not far from the open-air

folk museum A folk museum is a museum that deals with folk culture and heritage. Such museums cover local life in rural communities. A folk museum typically displays historical objects that were used as part of the people's everyday lives. Examples of such ...

Árbæjarsafn Árbæjarsafn () is the historical museum of the city of Reykjavík as well as an open-air museum and a regional museum. Its purpose is to give the public an insight into the living conditions, work and recreational activities of the people of Reyk ...

Árbær Árbær () is a district within the city of Reykjavík, Iceland. It includes five neighbourhoods: ''Árbær'' proper, ''Ártúnsholt'' , ''Norðlingaholt'' , ''Selás'' and the industrial area ''Hálsar'' . The area has approximately 13,000 inhabi ...

, the river cascades over several small waterfalls, within the boundary of the city. The river is an excellent place to fish

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

The valley

The valley ''Elliðaárdalur'' is one of the green recreational areas of Reykjavík with hiking and bicycle paths. There is also a swimming pool, a small ski lift and horse riding facilities in the valley. Since the beginning of the 20th century, this has been a

reforestation Reforestation (occasionally, reafforestation) is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation, but also after clearcutting. Management A debate ...

area with

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

, fir and

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

trees planted. Very interesting and varied bird life is found in the valley including

swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

s and 8 different species of

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

s. All together, 60 species of birds can be found here. Many

song bird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 500 ...

s such as that of the thrush can be heard. In 1921, the second

hydroelectric power station Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

in Iceland was constructed here and is still in use, the first being situated in the nearby town of

Hafnarfjörður Hafnarfjörður (), officially Hafnarfjarðarkaupstaður (), is a port town and municipality in Iceland, located about south of Reykjavík. The municipality consists of two non-contiguous areas in the Capital Region, on the southwest coast of t ...

. A museum in the power station tells the story of the electrification of Reykjavík. The base of the valley is a

lava field Lava fields are large, mostly flat areas of surface or subaquatic lava flows. Such features are generally composed of highly fluid basalt lava, and can extend for tens or hundreds of miles across the underlying terrain. Morphology and stru ...

dating from a

volcanic eruption Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often ...

4500 years ago in the Bláfjöll mountains some 25 km away from the city.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellidaar Rivers of Iceland Geography of Reykjavík