Kleifarvatn

Kleifarvatn
	The lake is in a treeless environment
Geographical location	Southwest Iceland
Tributaries	Ós, among others
Drain	none
Location close to the shore	Krýsuvík
	Data
Coordinates	63 ° 55 '0 " N , 21 ° 59' 0" W Coordinates: 63 ° 55 '0 " N , 21 ° 59' 0" W.
surface	8 km² (2001)
length	4.7 km
width	2.5 km
Maximum depth	97 m
particularities	different water levels (up to 4–5 m difference) due to Dependence on the groundwater level and probably also on tectonic / volcanic crevices, part of the Krýsuvík volcanic system with hot springs in the southern lake
	The Krýsuvíkurvegur on Kleifarvatn

The Kleifarvatn is a lake on the Icelandic Reykjanes Peninsula .

location

Kleifarvatn is located about 25 kilometers from Reykjavík and about ten kilometers southeast of Hafnarfjörður . Mountains frame the lake on all sides, including the 407-meter-high Sveifluháls palagonite ridge to the west .

The lake is located in the southern part of the Reykjanesskagi peninsula on the fault zone of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and its depth was up to 97 meters up to 2000. It is located east of the Krýsuvíkurvegur , a side road that connects the Reykjanesbraut with the Suðurstrandarvegur .

Plate shift and volcanism on Kleifarvatn

The area around the Kleifarvatn is characterized by the active volcanoes that surround it , and it is located in the middle of the Krýsuvík volcanic system . That and the plate boundary running here explain the frequent earthquakes .

After the great earthquake in 2000, the lake began to partially seep away. It is believed that crevices opened under the surface of the water. Shortly thereafter, its area had decreased by about a fifth. On the other hand, such changes in the water level at this lake have often been observed, and usually the water surface rose again after a while, which is also the case this time. In the meantime (February 2008) the water surface has risen considerably again.

Some hot springs were located under the lake water and came to light after the water level had lowered, as you can see in the picture.

In the vicinity of the lake there are two high temperature areas , one at Seltún (see picture at Reykjanesskagi ), another in the east of the lake.

legend

Similar to the Icelandic lakes Lagarfljót and Skorradalsvatn , folk tales also tell of a sea monster in Kleifarvatn.

Settlement history

The area was inhabited in earlier times. An old farm called Krýsuvík was destroyed by the lava from Ögmundarhraun in 1151 ; farms with the same name were inhabited elsewhere until 1857 . The only building of the hamlet is the small church Krísuvíkurkirkjan in the southwest of the lake , which is a listed building and is now looked after by the National Museum Þjóðminjasafn in Reykjavík.

Crime setting

In the meantime, there is also a crime novel by Arnaldur Indriðason with the title " Kleifarvatn " (2004). It was published in Germany in 2006 under the title " Kältezone ".

Kleifarvatn in winter
Source on the edge of the Kleifarvatn
Kleifarvatn from the south

Web links

Photos and videos

Commons : Kleifarvatn - collection of images, videos and audio files

Diving Kleifarvatn thermal area (Video: Diving in Kleifarvatn)

Knowledge Articles and newspaper articles

Individual evidence

↑ Talið að skjálftar hafi opnað sprungur í botninum. In: Morgunblaðið. August 24, 2001.
↑ Landmælingar Íslands (Ed.): Vegahandbókin. 2006, p. 68f.
^ Bijal P. Trivedi: Iceland Lake Disappearing Into New Crack in Earth. In: National Geographic Today. October 1, 2001 (National Geographic on "The Disappearance of the Lake"); Accessed: September 3, 2011 (English)
↑ T. Einarsson, H. Magnússon (Eds.): Íslandshandbókin. Náttúra, saga og sérkenni. 2. bindi. Örn og Örlygur, Reykjavík 1989, p. 55.
↑ T. Einarsson, H. Magnússon (Eds.): Íslandshandbókin. Náttúra, saga og sérkenni. 1. bindi. Örn og Örlygur, Reykjavík 1989, p. 54.
↑ T. Einarsson, H. Magnússon (Eds.): Íslandshandbókin. Náttúra, saga og sérkenni. 1. bindi. Örn og Örlygur, Reykjavík 1989, pp. 54f.

[1] Talið að skjálftar hafi opnað sprungur í botninum. In: Morgunblaðið. August 24, 2001.

[2] Landmælingar Íslands (Ed.): Vegahandbókin. 2006, p. 68f.

[3] Bijal P. Trivedi: Iceland Lake Disappearing Into New Crack in Earth. In: National Geographic Today. October 1, 2001 (National Geographic on "The Disappearance of the Lake"); Accessed: September 3, 2011 (English)

[4] T. Einarsson, H. Magnússon (Eds.): Íslandshandbókin. Náttúra, saga og sérkenni. 2. bindi. Örn og Örlygur, Reykjavík 1989, p. 55.

[5] T. Einarsson, H. Magnússon (Eds.): Íslandshandbókin. Náttúra, saga og sérkenni. 1. bindi. Örn og Örlygur, Reykjavík 1989, p. 54.

[6] T. Einarsson, H. Magnússon (Eds.): Íslandshandbókin. Náttúra, saga og sérkenni. 1. bindi. Örn og Örlygur, Reykjavík 1989, pp. 54f.