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The Skjálfandafljót River () is situated in the north 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 ...
. Skjálfandafljót is long, and is the fourth longest river of Iceland. It has its source at the northwestern border of the icecap
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 ...
on the
Highlands of Iceland The Highlands of Iceland ( is, hálendið ) are a sparsely inhabited plateau that covers most of the interior of Iceland. They are situated above 400–500 metres (1300–1600 feet) and are mostly an uninhabitable volcanic desert, because the w ...
. From there it streams parallel to the Sprengisandur Highland road in a northern direction, flowing finally into
Skjálfandi Skjálfandi (; also known as Skjálfandaflói ) is a bay in northern Iceland, with some of the characteristics of a fjord. The Icelandic word ''Skjálfandi'' literally translates to ''trembling'' which may refer to earthquakes in the area. The b ...
bay. By following the river from its source at the Vatnajökull glacier all the way to the river mouth at Skjálfandi bay it's possible to see many waterfalls. Skjálfandafljót possesses a number of waterfalls, including
Goðafoss Goðafoss () is a waterfall in northern Iceland. It is located along the country's main ring road at the junction with the Sprengisandur highland road, about 45 minutes from Akureyri, Iceland's second largest city. The water of the river Skjálf ...
. Other well-known waterfalls in Skjálfandafljót include Hrafnabjargafoss, Aldeyjarfoss, Barnafoss and Ullarfoss
1
It was first descended by kayak by a team from the University of Sheffield (UK) in 1989. At the north end of the Sprengisandur road, the river drops down 10m over Aldeyjarfoss. Goðafoss is in the lowlands, very near
Route 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered ...
. There have been proposals to build a
hydroelectricity 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 a ...
power station along the river.


See also

*
List of rivers of Iceland On an island like Iceland, the rivers are short in length. None of the rivers are important as a means of navigation due to the impracticality of settlements in the Highlands of Iceland where they originate. South * Hvítá * Krossá * Kúðafl ...
*
Waterfalls of Iceland Iceland is unusually suited for waterfalls (Icelandic: s. ''foss,'' pl. ''fossar''). This island country has a north Atlantic climate that produces frequent rain and snow and a near-Arctic location that produces large glaciers, whose summer ...


References


External links


Icelandic River Guide
Rivers of Iceland North Iceland {{Iceland-river-stub