Skjaldbreiður

Skjaldbreiður (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈscaltˌpreiːðʏr̥], "broad shield") is an Icelandic lava shield formed in one huge and protracted eruption roughly 9,500 years ago.[1] The extensive lava fields which were produced by this eruption, flowed southwards, and formed the basin of Þingvallavatn, Iceland's largest lake, and Þingvellir, the "Parliament Plains" where the Icelandic national assembly, the Alþing was founded in 930.

Skjaldbreiður
Skjaldbreiður as seen from Þingvellir
Highest point
Elevation1,060 m (3,480 ft)
Coordinates64°24′36″N 20°45′44″W
Naming
English translationbroad shield
Language of nameIcelandic
Geography
Skjaldbreiður is located in Iceland
Skjaldbreiður
Skjaldbreiður
Iceland
Geology
Age of rock9,000 years
Mountain typeshield volcano

The volcano summit is at 1,060 metres, and its crater measures roughly 300 metres in diameter.

Straddling the Mid-Atlantic ridge, the lava fields from Skjaldbreiður have been torn and twisted over the millennia, forming a multitude of fissures and rifts inside the Þingvellir National Park, the best known of which are Silfra, Almannagjá [ˈalˌmanːaˌcauː], Hrafnagjá [ˈr̥apnaˌcauː] and Flosagjá [ˈflɔːsaˌcauː].

  • Skjaldbreiður crater in snow.
    Skjaldbreiður crater in snow.

References
  1. "Global Volcanism Program | Image GVP-05768". volcano.si.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
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