Elliðavatn

The Elliðavatn is a lake in Iceland. It is located in the suburb area of ​​the capital Reykjavík in the municipality of Reykjavíkurborg and Kópavogur.

Geography

The area of ​​the Elliðavatn is 1.8 km ². In the vicinity is the recreation area Heiðmörk with hiking and biking trails, forests and lava formations.

When traveling towards the capital of the Hellisheiði, the lake left hand is behind the Rauðhólar, a series of pseudo- craters which were used for road construction purposes and the like as a quarry and are therefore only partly preserved.

The lake is fed by two small rivers from the Bláfjöll: Bugðá and Sudura. The river flows out of the lake Elliðaár over five kilometers to the sea. The river brings sometimes abundant sulfur with from the mountains, which are active volcanoes. But it is also about one of the ten best salmon rivers in the country.

History

The first power station in Reykjavík was fed from it and the lake was dammed in 1928 in addition to the purpose of energy production. A small power plant there is still and also a small museum on the subject.

Recreation

The valley of the river with small waterfalls and forest forms a recreational area of ​​the City of Reykjavík and is easily reached by walking, riding and cycling trails.