The Highlands of Iceland ( is, hálendið ) are a sparsely inhabited plateau that covers most of the interior 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 ...

. They are situated above 400–500 metres (1300–1600 feet) and are mostly an uninhabitable

volcanic desert A volcanic desert is an area devoid of vegetation because of volcanic activity. The term is usually applied to larger areas such as the Highlands of Iceland, the Rangipo Desert in New Zealand or Cordón Caulle in Chile. Occasionally though, it i ...

, because the water precipitating as rain or snow infiltrates so quickly into the ground that it is unavailable for plant growth. This results largely in a surface of grey, black or brown earth,

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

and

volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcano, volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used t ...

es. A few

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

-like areas, such as Herðubreiðarlindir near

Askja Askja () is an active volcano situated in a remote part of the Highlands of Iceland, central highlands of Iceland. The name Askja refers to a complex of nested calderas within the surrounding Dyngjufjöll mountains, which rise to , ''askja'' ...

, are found only in proximity to rivers. Icelanders categorise the Highlands as: * "Háls", meaning a broad mountain ridge between valleys, such as the one near Langavatn north of

Borgarnes Borgarnes () is a town located on a peninsula at the shore of Borgarfjörður in Iceland and is the largest town in the Borgarbyggð municipality with a population of about 3800 residents. It is a main junction in Iceland and the gateway to the S ...

; or * "Heiði", meaning the real highlands, such as those alongside the

Sprengisandur Sprengisandur () is a highland plateau in Iceland, defined roughly as the area between the Hofsjökull and Vatnajökull glaciers. History and etymology Like Kjölur and Kaldidalur, Sprengisandur is an ancient pass - during the time of the Ic ...

road. Most of the numerous

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

s, such as

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 ice ...

Langjökull Langjökull (, Icelandic for "long glacier") is the second largest ice cap in Iceland (953 km2), after Vatnajökull. It is situated in the west of the Icelandic interior or Highlands of Iceland and can be seen clearly from Haukadalur. Its ...

and

Hofsjökull __NOTOC__ Hofsjökull ( Icelandic: "temple glacier", ) is the third largest ice cap in Iceland after Vatnajökull and Langjökull and the largest active volcano in the country. It is situated in the west of the Highlands of Iceland and north o ...

, are also part of the Icelandic Highlands. Vegetation is only found on the shores of the glacier rivers. There is also the danger of glacial

outburst flood In geomorphology, an outburst flood—a type of megaflood—is a high-magnitude, low-frequency catastrophic flood involving the sudden release of a large quantity of water. During the last deglaciation, numerous glacial lake outburst floods were ca ...

s, or "glacier runs". Some of the most interesting parts of Iceland with volcanic activity are to be found in the Highlands, such as

Landmannalaugar Landmannalaugar () is a location in Iceland's Fjallabak Nature Reserve in the Highlands. It is at the edge of the Laugahraun lava field, formed in an eruption in approximately 1477. It is known for its natural geothermal hot springs and ...

and the region around Askja and

Herðubreið Herðubreið (, ''broad-shouldered'') is a tuya in northern part of Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland. It is situated in the Highlands of Iceland at the east side of the Ódáðahraun desert and close to Askja volcano. The desert is a larg ...

Interior routes

The Highlands can be crossed only during the Icelandic summer. For the rest of the year the highland roads are closed. The best known highland roads are Kaldidalur,

Kjölur Kjölur () is a plateau in the highlands of Iceland, roughly defined as the area between the Langjökull and Hofsjökull glaciers. It lies at an elevation of about 600–700 metres. Geography At the northern end of the Kjölur road, near the h ...

and

. Most highland roads require

four-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

vehicles, because it is necessary to cross rivers. However, the Kjölur route can easily be traversed in an ordinary car and is therefore one of the more popular highland roads. Off-road driving is forbidden entirely in Iceland where there is no snow, including the Highlands, to protect the environment.

References

External links

{{Deserts Deserts of Europe Highlands Volcanic deserts

Interior routes

See also

References

External links