Iceland

Let yourself be impressed by the island of ice and fire.

Mýrdalsjökull

Mýrdalsjökull

At 701 km2, Mýrdalsjökull is Iceland's fourth largest glacier and one of the most spectacular.
At 701 km2, Mýrdalsjökull is Iceland's fourth largest glacier and one of its most spectacular. Mýrdalsjökull, the country's southernmost glacier, sits partly on Katla, an active volcano that erupts every 40 to 80 years, melting the ice cap and causing catastrophic floods that sweep glacial debris into the lowlands.The first recorded eruption was in 894 and the last in 1918, when between 100,000 and 300,000 cubic metres of water per second were released.Katla's caldera (or crater) is 10 kilometres in diameter and lies hundreds of metres below the ice. The average thickness of the glacier ice is 225 metres, but in the caldera it increases to an incredible 750 metres.Sólheimajökull is an 8 km long glacier tongue, part of the Mýrdalsjökull glacier. A gravel path off the main road leads to a small car park near the edge of the glacier. You should never attempt to walk on a glacier unless you are in the company of a professionally guided hike.