Eldgjá

Eldgjá is a volcanic canyon in Iceland. Eldgjá and the nearby Laki craters are part of the same volcanic system as Katla 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. coord|64|14|4.74|N|18|24|11.27|W|. 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. [http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1702-03=&volpage=erupt&VErupt=Y&VSources=Y&VRep=Y&VWeekly=N]

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.

ee also

* Geography of Iceland
* Glaciers of Iceland
* Glacial lake outburst flood
* Iceland plume
* Iceland hotspot
* Lakes of Iceland
* List of islands off Iceland
* List of volcanoes in Iceland
* Plate tectonics
* Rivers of Iceland
* Volcanoes of Iceland
* Waterfalls of Iceland

External links

* [http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/europe_west_asia/eldgja.html Information on volcanism in the area]
* [http://isafold.de/strutsstigur02/mg_ofaerufoss.htm Photos]