Þingvallavatn
Encyclopedia
Þingvallavatn is a lake in south-western Iceland
. With a surface of 84 km² it is the largest natural lake in Iceland. Its greatest depth is at 114 m. At the northern shore of the lake, at Þingvellir
(after which the lake is named), the Alþingi
, the national parliament, was founded in the year 930
.
The lake is part of the Þingvellir National Park. The volcanic origin of the islands in the lake is clearly visible. The cracks and faults around it, of which the famous Almannagjá canyon is the largest, is where the Eurasian
and North American
tectonic plates meet. Silfra
fissure is a popular SCUBA and snorkeling site. The only outflow from lake Þingvallavatn is the Sog River
.
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...
. With a surface of 84 km² it is the largest natural lake in Iceland. Its greatest depth is at 114 m. At the northern shore of the lake, at Þingvellir
Þingvellir
|Thing]] Fields) is a place in Bláskógabyggð in southwestern Iceland, near the peninsula of Reykjanes and the Hengill volcanic area. Þingvellir is a site of historical, cultural, and geological importance and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland. It is the site of a rift...
(after which the lake is named), the Alþingi
Althing
The Alþingi, anglicised variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national parliament of Iceland. The Althingi is the oldest parliamentary institution in the world still extant...
, the national parliament, was founded in the year 930
930
Year 930 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* With the establishment of the Althing, now one of the world's oldest parliaments, the Icelandic Commonwealth is founded....
.
The lake is part of the Þingvellir National Park. The volcanic origin of the islands in the lake is clearly visible. The cracks and faults around it, of which the famous Almannagjá canyon is the largest, is where the Eurasian
Eurasian Plate
The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Eurasia , with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent, and the area east of the Chersky Range in East Siberia...
and North American
North American Plate
The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland, Cuba, Bahamas, and parts of Siberia, Japan and Iceland. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia. The plate includes both continental and oceanic crust...
tectonic plates meet. Silfra
Silfra
Located in the Þingvallavatn Lake in the Þingvellir National Park in Iceland, Silfra is a rift that is part of the divergent tectonic boundary between the North American and Eurasian plates....
fissure is a popular SCUBA and snorkeling site. The only outflow from lake Þingvallavatn is the Sog River
Sog River
Sog is the largest freshwater river in Iceland in terms of water volume. Average flow is 110 m³/s. It runs from Lake Þingvallavatn for 21.9km to its confluence with the river Hvítá, forming the river Ölfusá which then runs for another 25 km into the Atlantic Ocean.There are three hydroelectric...
.