Iceland: Day 15 - Skaftafellsjökull

July 9, 2004

We took another close look at Skaftafellsjökull, checking out the amazing mass of ice formed by snow under extreme pressure. This pressure eventually squeezes out all the air bubbles making the ice completely clear and giving it a bluish tinge in certain lighting. This is the kind of ice that the russians like to put in their vodka!

Under the glacier you can also get rivers of melted water. When there are volcanic eruptions under the ice cap, lakes form, and as the pressure builds, the ice lifts and the water pours out through these rivers. This is called a jokulhaup and the resulting floods can be disastrous, wiping out farms, roads, bridges, etc.

On top of the glaciers you get streaks of black from volcanic ash and dirt eroded from mountains which have been brought down by the moving ice. These glacial deposits are called moraines and eventually find themselves on the floodplains of the glacial tongues.

The glacier ice has a beautiful blueish tinge.

The glacier has captured Rubby and won't let go!

The massive glacier tongue.
If you don't think it looks big, check out the people in the lower left corner for scale!

[ Iceland Vacation Home Page ]