Eldgjá
Encyclopedia
Eldgjá is a volcanic canyon
in Iceland
. Eldgjá and the Katla volcano are part of the same volcanic system in the south of the country. Eldgjá means "fire canyon" in Icelandic.
Situated between Landmannalaugar
and Kirkjubæjarklaustur
, Eldgjá is the largest volcanic canyon in the world, 270m deep and 600m wide at its greatest. It was discovered by Þorvaldur Thoroddsen
in 1893.
The first documented eruption in 934 was the largest flood basalt
in historic time. An estimated 18 km³ of lava
poured out of the earth.
There is a waterfall named Ófærufoss
within the canyon. A natural bridge across the waterfall vanished in 1993 due to excess water from melting ice.
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. Eldgjá and the Katla volcano are part of the same volcanic system in the south of the country. Eldgjá means "fire canyon" in Icelandic.
Situated between Landmannalaugar
Landmannalaugar
Landmannalaugar is a region near the volcano Hekla in southern section of Iceland's highlands.The Landmannalaugar area is a popular tourist destination and hiking hub in Iceland's highlands. The area displays a number of unusual geological elements, like the multicolored rhyolite mountains and...
and Kirkjubæjarklaustur
Kirkjubæjarklaustur
The village Kirkjubæjarklaustur is a village in the south of Iceland on the hringvegur between Vík í Mýrdal and Höfn. It is part of the municipality of Skaftárhreppur with approximately 120 inhabitants.-Location:...
, Eldgjá is the largest volcanic canyon in the world, 270m deep and 600m wide at its greatest. It was discovered by Þorvaldur Thoroddsen
Þorvaldur Thoroddsen
Þorvaldur Thoroddsen was an Icelandic geologist and geographer.-Life:Þorvaldur was the son of the writer Jón Thoroddsen. He graduated from the Learned School of Reykjavík in 1875 and then immediately proceeded to Copenhagen to further his studies...
in 1893.
The first documented eruption in 934 was the largest flood basalt
Flood basalt
A flood basalt or trap basalt is the result of a giant volcanic eruption or series of eruptions that coats large stretches of land or the ocean floor with basalt lava. Flood basalts have occurred on continental scales in prehistory, creating great plateaus and mountain ranges...
in historic time. An estimated 18 km³ of lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
poured out of the earth.
There is a waterfall named Ófærufoss
Ófærufoss
Ófærufoss is a waterfall situated in the Eldgjá chasm in central Iceland. Until the early 1990s a natural bridge spanned the falls, but it collapsed from natural causes....
within the canyon. A natural bridge across the waterfall vanished in 1993 due to excess water from melting ice.
See also
- Geography of IcelandGeography of IcelandIceland is a medium-sized island in the North Atlantic ocean. The island is located east of Greenland and immediately south of the Arctic Circle, atop the divergent boundary of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the North Atlantic Ocean. It lies about from New York City and from Scotland...
- Glaciers of IcelandGlaciers of IcelandThe glaciers and ice caps of Iceland cover 11.1% of the land area of the country and have a considerable impact on its landscape and meteorology...
- Glacial lake outburst floodGlacial lake outburst floodA glacial lake outburst flood is a type of outburst flood that occurs when the dam containing a glacial lake fails. The dam can consist of glacier ice or a terminal moraine...
- Iceland plumeIceland plumeThe Iceland Plume is a postulated upwelling of anomalously hot rock in the Earth's mantle beneath Iceland. Its origin is thought to lie deep in the mantle, perhaps at the boundary between the core and the mantle at ca. 2880 km depth. Opinions differ as to whether seismic studies have imaged...
- Iceland hotspotIceland hotspotThe Iceland hotspot is a hotspot which is partly responsible for the high volcanic activity which has formed the island of Iceland.-Description:...
- Lakes of Iceland
- List of islands off Iceland
- Timetable of major worldwide volcanic eruptionsTimetable of major worldwide volcanic eruptionsThis article is a list of volcanic eruptions of approximately at least magnitude 6 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index or equivalent sulfur dioxide emission around the Quaternary period. Some cooled the global climate; the extent of this effect depends on the amount of sulfur dioxide emitted...
- Volcanism in Iceland