Skaftafell#Skaftafell National Park

Skaftafell is a sanctuary in Öræfi, in eastern Iceland. The Skaftafell National Park was established on 15 September 1967, and since then enlarged three times. On 12 September 2004, the National Park was enlarged again and was with more than 4,800 square kilometers by 2008 one of the largest in Europe. On 7 June 2008, the Skaftafell National Park became part of the Vatnajökull National Park.

Name

Mechanism is named after the mountain Skaftafell National Park, an extinct and eroded volcano, which represent the remains of the Kristínartindar.

Settlement history

Shortly after the settlement of Iceland a large homestead in Skaftafell was established and the area was determined to the meeting ( Thing ). However, the catastrophic eruption of the volcano Öræfajökull in 1362 wiped out the entire local population and the area has since been called " Öræfi " - called - no man's land. Although Skaftafell and many other farms were soon rebuilt, but a life of agriculture has become increasingly difficult due to the cooling of the climate. The regular eruptions of Grímsvötn volcano called jökulhaups (glacier runs) indicate which flooded grasslands, leaving a layer of ash and sand. 1988, the traditional agriculture in Skaftafell was finally stopped.

Earlier, in climatically favorable times, the farmers improved their income from sheep farming, by driving to the coast to hunt seals and collect eggs. Shipwrecks offered excellent material for various buildings and some of the farmers from Skaftafell became famous for its woodwork.

In earlier centuries, the farmstead Skaftafell stood at the foot of the mountains, in Gömlutún are still some ruins to visit. When the flow Skeiðará began to relocate its river towards homestead and flooded the adjacent fields, the houses were at the beginning of the 19th century uphill moved and divided into three buildings. One of them, Sel, abandoned in 1946. Sel was restored by the National Museum and is now open to visitors.

Landscape and geology

The area around Skaftafell is characterized by strong contrasts. Several glaciers are surrounded by jagged mountain ridges, of which the glaciated Hvannadalshnjúkur highest protrudes. Multifarious are the evidence of erosive forces by glaciers and rivers. Since the time of the first sagas in Iceland, the ice has retreated several times before and, with a maximum around the year 1890. Since the glacier retreats. The glacial rivers changed their riverbed often over the plateau, leaving behind the sediments that now form the Sander of Skeiðarársandur. The Ring Road No. 1 was only completed as a complete ring around Iceland, in 1974, when the last river, the Skeiðará, was bridged. In 2009, however, the Skeiðará changed its river: flow through it instead of under the bridge, it now flows west front of the glacier into the river Gígjukvísl. Therefore, the flow under the long Skeiðarábrücke in the east has relatively little water.

The area around Skaftafell has experienced strong volcanic different times. 1362 has been released since the beginning of colonization by the eruption of ash Öræfajökull the largest set of all Icelandic volcanoes. A smaller eruption took place in the year 1727th As it turned out again in 2011, the subglacial Grimsvotn Volcano one of the most active volcanoes on the island. He is also known for its jökulhlaups or glacier runs.

Plants and Wildlife

Compared to other places in the south coast of Iceland Skaftafell has a mild and pleasant climate. The area often benefited from the protection of the mountain slopes of the Öræfajökull. Birch and ash trees occasionally cover the fertile lower slopes and the birches higher than most other native birch trees in Bæjarstaðarskógur grow. Various flowering plants, which are characteristic of East Iceland, bloom here: the round-leaved Bellflower, Bock saxifrage and Bacopa saxifrage.

In the period since the sheep operation in Skaftafell, went through the vegetation composition major changes, and plants thrive further inland at the foot of Skaftafellsjökull and Morsárdalur valley. Ways in which the real angelica, the Wild Angelica, the beach pea leaf or the Arctic fireweed are hard to find grazing areas, are here but now common. Birch and willow also begin again to this land to grow.

At the bottom of the slopes of the forests are often found Redwings, Redpolls and wrens. Woodcock, ptarmigan, golden plover and Meadow Pipit keep the other hand, more likely to continue on up the slope. Other birds such as ravens, merlins, northern wheatear or snow buntings are native to the park. The only wild mammals are the arctic fox, mink and voles. The local insect world can be considered to be quite varied, at least compared to the rest of Iceland.

Waterfall Svartifoss

One famous waterfall is located in this national park: the Svartifoss. It is found on many calendar pictures, because he knows foaming against a background of black basalt columns stand out.

In addition to the Svartifoss there is in this national park recently still the highest waterfall of Iceland. In Morsárjökull a waterfall of 227 meters has been created. He was named Morsárfoss.

The National Park

When the Vatnajökull National Park was established in the summer of 2008, the former Skaftafell National Park has been incorporated. Skaftafell itself has been protected since 1967. Include declared aims, make it both accessible to the public, and to obtain its flora, fauna, landscape and its cultural heritage.

Open all year, the Skaftafell Visitor Centre serves the southern part of the Vatnajökull National Park and offers park visitors with information about the park, its surroundings, existing trails, its nature and history, as well as other recreational opportunities and offers. Display boards in the visitor center describe the intertwined history between humans and nature in Skaftafell. Skaftafell hosts a variety of hiking trails and spacious campground can accommodate tents, trailers or caravans. Although the campground itself is open only between May 1 and September 30, can be camped at other times by arrangement with the park staff.

In summer, the park ranger guided walks and other events, such as lesson plans or activities for children offer.

Colonization

There was originally some larger farms in the area. However, most were abandoned over time, after the upstream farmland had turned into black Sander because of outbreaks of Öræfajökull and the glacier runs the Skeiðará.

The two remaining farms devote himself mainly to tourism. Between the two courts is the museum courtyard Sel. There are also a camping site and a tourist information center at the entrance to the national park. The park is easily accessible by hiking trails.

Þórður Tómasson, head of the Skógar Museum, described in 1980 in his book Iceland Skaftafell - Þættir úr sögu ættarseturs above atvinnuþátta life in this area in earlier times.

Transport links

The National Highway 1, the Hringvegur leads almost directly past the National Park Centre.

Skaftafell National Park is located 327 kilometers by road from Reykjavík. After Höfn there are 136 kilometers.