Skeiðará () is a relatively short
glacier
A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
river (about 30 km long). It has its source on the glacier Skeiðarárjökull, one of the southern arms of the
Vatnajökull in the south of
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 ...
.
In spite of its short length, this river has a bad reputation. It is especially feared because of the frequent
glacier runs that can be fatal.
In front of
Skaftafell
Skaftafell () is a preservation area in Öræfi, southeast Iceland. It was once a major farm, later being named a national park. Originally known as Skaftafell National Park, it was subsequently joined together with other nearby regions to form t ...
and Skeiðarárjökull, Skeiðará has formed the
Skeiðarársandur, a black plain of lava sand and ashes crossed by a lot of small rivulets which covers the whole area between the park and the sea (about 40 km long and 5 to 10 km wide). In 1996, the latest of these glacier runs took place.
It destroyed parts of
Route 1 (the Ring Road). The bridge was damaged by floating ice boulders the size of houses. At the peak of this glacier run, 45,000 m
3/s of water were coming down. No one was harmed, scientists having very carefully monitored the volcano
Grímsvötn
Grímsvötn (; ''vötn'' = "waters", singular: ) is an active volcano with a (partially subglacial) fissure system located in Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland. The central volcano is completely subglacial and located under the northwestern side ...
on
Vatnajökull which caused the glacier run by its eruption.
See also
*
List of rivers of Iceland
References
Rivers of Iceland
Southern Region (Iceland)
{{Iceland-river-stub