is a mountain on the inner western side 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 is 1,138 meters (3,733 feet) tall, It is one of the most prominent and best-known of 's mountains, towering over those nearby. The peak is allegedly visible from ten counties. It also offers a good view, and is a popular spot for hiking, given that the climb is relatively easy.

History

The peak is mentioned in the ''

Landnámabók (, "Book of Settlements"), often shortened to , is a medieval Icelandic written work which describes in considerable detail the settlement () of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries CE. is divided into five parts and ov ...

'', which states that Kráku-Hreiðar Ófeigsson, settler in Tungusveit, chose to die in Mælifell, a church site and former

vicarage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or Minister (Christianity), ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of n ...

that overlooks. The name ("measurement peak") refers to the fact that, since early in Iceland's settlement, people in the surrounding counties considered noon to be when the sun was above the mountain. The peak has also been used to forecast the weather; if there is a fog belt is around the middle of the mountain but the tip of the peak clearly protrudes through the fog, the weather the day after will be dry. On the eastern side of the mountain, there is a snow, which is thought to resemble a horse seen from the side, into the summer. As the snow melts, and the "horse" disappears above the shoulders, it becomes possible to drive to Stórisandur, in Iceland's highlands. The old southern road to Stórisandur and

Kjalvegur Kjalvegur (, ) is a highland road in Iceland, crossing Kjölur from north to south. History Formerly, the name referred to a horse-track closer to Langjökull, west of the current road. This track now goes by the name ''Kjalvegur hinn forni' ...

runs through Mælifellsdalur valley, to the west of the mountain. Jakob H. Líndal researched the geology of and wrote an article about it in the Icelandic magazine (''The Natural Scientist''), published in volume 10, 1940. Various people have researched the mountain since then. is made of

palagonite Palagonite is an alteration product from the interaction of water with volcanic glass of chemical composition similar to basalt. Palagonite can also result from the interaction between water and basalt melt. The water flashes to steam on contact ...

, which is located among much older

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

lava beds. It was formed from eruptions under thick

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

ice during a short-lived period of volcanic eruption activity that took place in long after the region's primary seismic profile accumulated and the main features of the landscape had formed.

Drangey Drangey () or Drang Isle is an uninhabited island in the Skagafjörður fjord in northern Iceland. It is the remnant of a 700,000‑year‑old volcano, mostly made of volcanic palagonite tuff, forming a massive rock fortress. The island was fir ...

Málmey Málmey () is an uninhabited island off the northern coast of Iceland, one of the three islands in the Skagafjörður, Skagafjörður bay, along with Drangey and Lundey, Skagafjörður, Lundey. It is located on the east side of the bay. Málmey is ...

Þórðarhöfði in Höfðaströnd is a 202-meter-tall rocky headland that runs toward the eastern side of Skagafjörður directly north of Hofsós. At first glance, the headland seems like an island but it is connected to the mainland. Two low Isthmus, isthmuse ...

, and Skagi's most remote geological formations formed during the same period. is around one million years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maelifellshnjukur Mountains of Iceland Skagafjörður