Helgafell (Hafnarfjörður)

Helgafell
height	340  m
location	Southwest of Iceland
Coordinates	64 ° 0 '33 "  N , 21 ° 50' 57"  W Coordinates: 64 ° 0 '33 "  N , 21 ° 50' 57"  W.
Type	Shield volcano
rock	Palagonite
Age of the rock	about 10,000 years

The Helgafell is a 340 meter high volcanic mountain in the southwest of Iceland . It is located southeast of the town of Hafnarfjörður in the area of ​​the municipality of the same name.

Surname

There are probably so many mountains called Helgafell in Iceland because Viking shrines were to be found on them in pagan times. Translated, Helgafell means holy mountain . An Icelandic architect, for example, linked the cairns on various mountains in the area with the one on the Helgafell on a map, and found out that they probably represented a solar calendar.

geology

The Helgafell was created by a crevasse during the last ice age .

The mountain is surrounded by lava fields of the Trölladyngja or Krýsuvík volcano system. However, there is also a recent eruption below it. The lavas of the Gvendarselshraun lava field , which is one of the youngest lava fields on Reykjanesskagi , still poured out of it after the conquest of Iceland in the 9th century .

Hiking on the Helgafell

The Helgafell is one of the most popular hiking destinations around the Icelandic capital Reykjavík. Marked hiking trails lead z. B. from Kaldársel to the mountain.

Web links

Commons : Helgafell (Reykjanesskagi)  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Herdís H. Schopka, ea: The formation of Helgafell, southwest Iceland, a monogenetic subglacial hyaloclastite ridge: Sedimentology, hydrology and volcano-ice interaction. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research , Vol. 152, Issues 1-4, April 15, 2006, Pages 359-77; doi : 10.1016 / j.jvolgeores.2005.11.010 (Science direct, English)
• Hiking on the Helgafell (Icelandic; PDF; 14 kB)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Ari Trausti Guðmundsson, Pétur Þorleifsson: Íslensk fjöll. Gönguleiðir á 151 tind. Reykjavík (Mál og Menning) 2004, p. 98
2. ^ Ari Trausti Guðmundsson, Pétur Þorleifsson: Íslensk fjöll. Gönguleiðir á 151 tind. Reykjavík (Mál og Menning) 2004, pp. 98f.
3. ↑ Íslandshandbókin. Náttúra, saga og sérkenni. 1. bindi. Edited by T. Einarsson, H. Magnússon. Reykjavík (Örn og Örlygur) 1989, p. 80
4. ^ Ari Trausti Guðmundsson, Pétur Þorleifsson: Íslensk fjöll. Gönguleiðir á 151 tind. Reykjavík (Mál og Menning) 2004, p. 99