Sultartangalón

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The lake Sultartangarlón is located in the highlands of Iceland to the north of the volcano Hekla. The lake is located in the municipality of Delta Ásahreppur, Skeiða -og Gnúpverjahreppur and Rangárþing Ytra.

Geography

Sultartangarlón is a reservoir of the rivers Þjórsá and Tungnaá, both of which culminate in along Lake. At the river Tungnaá are the power plants Hrauneyjarfoss, Sultartangi and Vatnsfell. Its surface area measures 20 square kilometers, the lake is at an altitude of 297 above sea-level

The Sprengisandur highland road leads past the lake to the north in the Icelandic highlands. Also the waterfall Háifoss within walking distance.

History

From 1982 to 1984 the mountain Sandfell and each about 1 km east were the rivers Þjórsá and Tungnaá dammed above the confluence through dams to manage water power. The dam of Sultartangi is 6.1 km in length, the longest dam in Iceland. With the emergence of the dam a waterfall called Ármótafoss disappeared.

First, the water power was used in Búrfell power plant, in addition as 1997, the power plant Sultartangi. The lake was dammed to continue on now 20 km ². The water is funneled to the power plant Sultartangi by a 3.5 km long tunnel, which crosses the mountain Sandfell.

The old name of the area is Bláskógar ( blue forest ), indicating former forest cover.