Langisjór

The Langisjór is a lake in the highlands of Iceland. It is located in the municipality of Skaftárhreppur.

Geography

Its area is about 27 km ², its depth up to 75 m. It is about 20 km long and up to 2 km wide.

The lake is very remote on the southwestern edge of Vatnajökull at an altitude of 670 m above sea-level To the west lie the Tungnaáfjöll, a little further west the Veiðivötn, east of Skáftarjökull.

The long and narrow lake extends parallel to the tectonic plate boundary from the southwest to the northeast, surrounded by high mountains. The most famous of these is the Sveinstindur ( 1090 m). The area around the lake is like a desert.

A small river flows out of the Langisjór and opens soon in the Skaftá.

In the lake are numerous islands and peninsulas.

History

By the end of the 19th century knew of its existence only shepherds and farmers who were looking for lost sheep at the end of summer.