Skaftá
Location | |
---|---|
Country | Iceland |
Physical characteristics | |
Mouth | Atlantic Ocean |
• coordinates | 63°39′50″N 17°48′0″W / 63.66389°N 17.80000°W (primary) |
Length | 115 kilometres (71 mi) |
Discharge | |
• average | 122 m3/s (4,300 cu ft/s)[1] |
Basin features | |
Landmarks | Kirkjubæjarklaustur |
Tributaries | |
• left | Grjótá, Hellisá, Fjaðrá |
• right | Útfall, Nyðri-Ófærá, Syðri-Ófærá |
The Skaftá (Icelandic pronunciation:
Course
The river's primary source is two subglacial "cauldrons" beneath Skaftájökull, part of the Vatnajökull glacier in the interior of Iceland.[2][3] It also receives spring-fed water from Langisjór, a lake a short distance to the west from which a tributary called the Útfall runs into the Skaftá. Other tributaries include the North and South Ófaerá, the Grjótá, and the Hellisá.[4][5]
West of Skaftárdalur, a farm named for the river valley, the Skaftá runs over a lava field in many channels, which recombine into three for the remainder of its course to the Atlantic: the Eldvatn or Ása-Eldvatn combines with the River Kúðafljót; the Ásakvísl or Árkvísla flows under a sand-covered lava field and has been affected by road construction; the third, easternmost branch, which flows near Kirkjubæjarklaustur, retains the name Skaftá[5] but has extremely low water levels when temperatures are lowest.[4] Its total length is approximately 115 kilometres (71 mi).[5]
The river was bridged at Kirkjubæjarklaustur in 1903 and the Ása-Eldvatn was bridged soon after. Efforts to bank and bridge the Ásakvísl have led to undermining of the bridge works and to erosion of land formerly watered by it.[5]
Effects of 1783 eruption
Beginning on June 8, 1783, the
See also
References
- ^ "Skaftá". Visit Klaustur (in Icelandic). Kirkjubæjarklaustur. Retrieved 2018-12-04.
- ^ – via ResearchGate.
- ^ .
- ^ a b c "Skafta River". Nat.is. Nordic Adventure Travel. Retrieved 2018-12-04.
- ^ a b c d e "Skaftá". Katla Geopark (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2018-12-04.
- .
- ^ "Vatnajökull National Park—Lakagigar". Klaustur.is. Kirkjubæjarklaustur. Retrieved 2018-12-04.
- ^ a b "Jökulhlaups". Lava Centre. Retrieved 2018-12-04.
- ISSN 1670-8261.
- ^ Bjarni Pétur Jónsson (2015-10-02). "Mesta Skaftárhlaup síðan mælingar hófust" (in Icelandic). RÚV.
External links
- Media related to Skaftá at Wikimedia Commons