Tindfjallajökull
Encyclopedia
Tindfjallajökull is a stratovolcano
in the south of Iceland
. It has erupted rocks of basalt
ic to rhyolitic
composition, and a 5-km-wide caldera was formed during the eruption of the 54,000 year old Thórsmörk Ignimbrite.
It is capped by a glacier of 19 km². Its highest peak is Ýmir (1462m), which takes its name from the giant Ýmir
of Norse mythology. The most recent eruption was at an unknown time in the Holocene
.
The name means "Tindfjöll glacier". Tindfjöll ("peak mountains") is a ridge that extends to the south of the glacier.
The rivers that flow from the glacier are Hvítmaga to the north-east, Gilsá to the south, Þórólfsá to the south-west, Valá to the north-west and Blesá to the north. Hvítmaga, Gilsá and Þórólfsá drain into Markarfljót
while Valá and Blesá drain into Eystri Rangá.
Stratovolcano
A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions...
in the south of 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...
. It has erupted rocks of basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
ic to rhyolitic
Rhyolite
This page is about a volcanic rock. For the ghost town see Rhyolite, Nevada, and for the satellite system, see Rhyolite/Aquacade.Rhyolite is an igneous, volcanic rock, of felsic composition . It may have any texture from glassy to aphanitic to porphyritic...
composition, and a 5-km-wide caldera was formed during the eruption of the 54,000 year old Thórsmörk Ignimbrite.
It is capped by a glacier of 19 km². Its highest peak is Ýmir (1462m), which takes its name from the giant Ýmir
Ymir
In Norse mythology, Ymir, also called Aurgelmir among the giants themselves, was the founder of the race of frost giants and was later killed by the Borrs.-Etymology:...
of Norse mythology. The most recent eruption was at an unknown time in the Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
.
The name means "Tindfjöll glacier". Tindfjöll ("peak mountains") is a ridge that extends to the south of the glacier.
The rivers that flow from the glacier are Hvítmaga to the north-east, Gilsá to the south, Þórólfsá to the south-west, Valá to the north-west and Blesá to the north. Hvítmaga, Gilsá and Þórólfsá drain into Markarfljót
Markarfljót
Markarfljót is a river in the south of Iceland. It is approximately 100 kilometers long.The Markarfljót rises in the Rauðafossafjöll massif, east of the volcano Hekla. The main sources for the river are the glaciers Mýrdalsjökull and Eyjafjallajökull...
while Valá and Blesá drain into Eystri Rangá.
