Kverkfjöll

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Kverkfjöll
Kverkfjöll

Kverkfjöll

height 1933  m
location Iceland
Mountains Kverkfjöll
Coordinates 64 ° 40 '35 "  N , 16 ° 41' 43"  W Coordinates: 64 ° 40 '35 "  N , 16 ° 41' 43"  W.
Kverkfjöll (Iceland)
Kverkfjöll
Type Stratovolcano
Age of the rock more than 100,000 years
Last eruption 1968 (active)
First ascent 1910 by the German chemist Max Trautz
Kverkfjöll

Kverkfjöll

Ice caves in Kverkfjöll

The Kverkfjöll are a volcanic mountain range in Iceland with a height of up to 1933 m. This makes them the third highest mountain range in the country after Öræfajökull and Bárðarbunga . Like these, they are part of the Vatnajökull glacier shield .

The first to climb the mountain range was the German chemist Max Trautz in 1910.

Location and shape

location

The mountain range is located on the northern edge of the Vatnajökull glacier , approx. 40 km south of the Askja . The Kverkfjöll are located in a depression between the very broad glacier tongues Dyngjujökull (west) and Brúarjökull (east), from which the rivers Jökulsá á Fjöllum and Kreppa arise.

shape

The mountain range is about 10 km long from northeast to southwest.

A distinction is made between the eastern (isl. Austari Kverkfjöll ) and western Kverkfjöll (isl. Vestari Kverkfjöll ). The two ridges are separated by a mountain ridge that deepens to the north. In this the valley glacier Kverkjökull flows to the northwest down to the 900 m high plateau in front of the mountains.

Two lower palagonite ridges , which are arranged parallel to each other in NE-SW direction, lead from NE towards the Kverkfjöll and merge into it. The western one is called Kverkfjallarani , the eastern one Kverkhnúkar . The valley in between, Hraundalur , flows into the ridge.

The peaks are very steep in all directions except for the southwest. Since the mountain range was formed under glaciers, it mainly consists of pillow lavas made of palagonite . The highest peak Skarphéðinstindur reaches an altitude of 1936 m.

Surname

A notch as it divides the Kverkfjöll is called kverk in Icelandic , from which the name of the mountain range is derived.

The volcanic system

The volcanic system of the Kverkfjöll lies in the rift zone at the transition from the eastern to the northern Icelandic volcanic belt. The northern volcanic zone extends to the Öxarfjörður fjord .

The Kverkfjöll is the central volcano of a large separate volcanic system in the north of Vatnajökull. The fissures of the volcanic system extend from the central volcano to the northeast and southwest. And there, during the last Ice Age, the aforementioned palagonite ridges formed at volcanic crevices under the glaciers. The Kverkfjallhryggur disappears in the south-west under the Vatnajökull, whereas the northern palagonite ridges stretch very visibly for another 30 km to the northeast.

One suspects under the central volcano, i.e. the Kverkfjöll itself, one of the largest magma chambers in the country.

Calderas and glacial lakes

There are two glacier-covered calderas in Kverkfjöll . The southern caldera is entirely covered with ice, while much of the edges of the northern one are ice-free. They are about 1800 m above sea level. The northern caldera is called Gengissig and is located a little southeast of the hut of the glacier club ( Jöklarannsóknarfélag ), the other caldera is called Galtarlón and is located in the Efri Hveradalur .

Glacier lakes have formed under the ice of the two, so that glacier runs would be possible in the foreseeable future . The Gengissig lake is about 600 m wide and 100 m deep. It formed in 1959 after a small explosive eruption.

The western part of the mountains is particularly characterized by geothermal energy and hot springs. There is a narrow valley that extends into the western mountain range, the Hveradalir , to which a strenuous glacier hike leads.

Eruption story

Eruptions can be proven more than 100,000 years ago. It is not yet known exactly how far the system extends under the Vatnajökull glacier. A total of 40 series of eruptions is assumed since the formation of the mountain range, with an average of around 0.1 km³ of lava and tephra having been produced. Exact figures are not available, partly because the mountains are so remote.

Post-glacial eruptions

Many crevasses cross the Kverkfjallrani . There were numerous effusive eruptions there after the Ice Age . The Lindahraun lava field is the most recent result of such eruptions, and its age is estimated to be 2,800 years. The thin lavas flowed like rivers down the sides of the palagonite ridges. As far as we know, it was the most recent eruption in the Kverkfjöll system outside the central volcano, " which is surprising because the Kverkfjöll system is located exactly above the hot spot (below Iceland) "

The last eruption in 1968 produced only a light cloud of ash.

Glacier runs

Associated with the eruptions in the Kverkfjöll and below the Dyngjujökull , which is part of the Bárðarbunga system , were considerable glacier runs.

It is believed that the glaciers that shaped the Jökulsárgljúfur gorge 3,000 and 2,500 years ago originated from this volcanic system or that of the Bárðarbunga.

Even in the 17th and 18th centuries there were repeated eruptions and glacier runs here.

Smaller glacier runs occurred in 1987 and 2002 (between 400 and 500 m³ / s at a distance of around 40 km near the Upptýppingar)

The Icelandic television broadcaster RÚV reported on August 17, 2013 that in the days before a small glacier run from the Kverkjöll into the river Volga, a tributary of the Jökulsá á Fjöllum , had torn a footbridge with it. In the Jökulsá á Fjöllum, 335 m³ / sec. Measured among the Upptyppingar, which means an unusually large amount of water at this time of the year and proves the course of the glacier. As a result, smaller steam explosions had hurled stones several hundred meters. In an interview with RÚV, a geologist explained that glacial lakes regularly form and empty here at an altitude of around 1600 m. The depression left by the glacier lake this time measures approx. 500 m in diameter. On the ice of the glacier you can clearly see gray traces of clay as evidence of the explosions. These would have arisen due to the decrease in pressure after the lake, which was resting in a high-temperature area, emptied. In the days that followed, there was still a certain amount of unrest in the system. a. expressed in a 2.7 magnitude earthquake. However, this is nothing unusual in this well-known earthquake area, according to a member of the Icelandic Meteorological Institute, which is also involved in earthquake analysis. The remote area near the northern edge of Vatnajökull will continue to be closely monitored.

Hveradalir high temperature area

The 10 km² high temperature area of ​​Hveradalir in the western Kverkfjöll is one of the five largest in the country.

The high temperature area is 3 km long and up to 1 km wide and is located at an altitude of 1600 to 1700 m ( coordinates ). There is also Gámur , a large fumarole .

Inside the Hveradalir, the Galtarlón lake is located in a small caldera. It is often covered in ice and sometimes deflates. “In June 1998 one suddenly noticed a high column of steam over the Hveradalir. When you went up to the Hveradalir, the lake that had been here for years suddenly disappeared and instead you could see many mud springs. "

Geothermal energy can also be found at Skarphéðinstindur and in the Eastern Kverkfjöll, e.g. B. in the Hvergil . There are 40 - 60 ° warm springs on an approximately 2 km long strip as well as pillow lavas.

Ice caves

The geothermal energy causes the formation of ice caves again and again, especially on the river. These are now no longer allowed to be entered because they have become very unstable.

Vegetation in the Kverkfjöll

Since these are high mountains located very far to the north, there is no continuous cover of vegetation in these mountains.

However, individual species thrive up to an altitude of 1400 m and above, such as certain types of moss or the Stereocaulon arcticum.

Vegetation can be found mainly around the hot springs in the Hveragil.

Access and Tourism

Sigurðarskáli hut

Old sources report that in the Middle Ages a path led over the Vatnajökull and this was probably near the Kverkfjöll.

In the summer of 1970 a bridge was built over the Kreppa and a jeep runway over Hvannalindir to the Kverkfjöll (runways F 910 and F902).

A strenuous hiking trail leads over the ice of Kverkjökull via Löngufönn into Hveradalir and from there to the Kverkfjallaskali hut .

The comparatively comfortable Sigurðarskáli hut of the Fljotsdalsherad and Husavik Touring Clubs is located at the foot of the Kverkfjöll at an altitude of approx. 900 m ( coordinates ). It is designed for 85 overnight guests and is a good starting point for excursions to the Kverkfjöll area.

The Kverkfjallaskali hut ( coordinates ) is located in the immediate vicinity of the active geothermal area of ​​Hveradalir at an altitude of 1718 m . It is operated by the Icelandic glacier association Jöklarannsóknafélag Íslands and offers accommodation for up to 12 people.

The Kverkfjöll have been located in the eastern area of ​​the Vatnajökull National Park since 2008 .

Upptyppingar and Álftadalsdyngja

At the end of the 2000s, earthquake series began at a depth of around 18–20 km, and they intensified in 2007 and 2008. The responsible geologists such as Páll Einarsson from the Nordic Volcanological Institute suspected magma movements as the cause. These do not necessarily have to lead to eruptions, especially if they occur at such depth.

The earthquake activity has continued in reduced strength. In 2010 earthquakes were located a little north of the original epicenter near the old shield volcano Álftadalsdyngja , they had reached an average depth of about 5.5 km.

In the event of an eruption, the Krossá and Jökulsá á Fjöllum rivers would play an important role in the flow .

The journalist and nature conservationist Ómar Ragnarsson, well known in Iceland, as well as various other nature conservationists (from the nature conservation organization Landvernd ) argued that the gravity of the now filled Hálslón reservoir at the Kárahnjúka power station triggered the magma movements.

See also

Web links

Photos and videos

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

Scientific contributions

Other

To the Upptyppingar

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Íslandshandbókin. Náttúra, saga og sérkenni. 2. bindi. Edited by T. Einarsson, H. Magnússon, 1989, p. 922
  2. ↑ a b c [1] Umhverfisstofnun, Icelandic State Nature and Environmental Protection Agency; Accessed: April 19, 2011 (English)
  3. ^ Snorri Baldursson, Helgi Torfason, Hörður Kristinsson: Natural Conditions and the Conservation Value of Natural Phenomena North of the Glacier Vatnajökull - a Summary . October 2003, ISSN  1670-0120 , p. 33 ( PDF [accessed November 24, 2015]).
  4. ↑ http://www.volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=373050 ; Accessed November 24, 2015
  5. ↑ Magnús T. Guðmundsson / Þórdís Högnadóttir: Jökullón í Vestari Kverkfjöllum, þróun og jökulhlaupahætta. Skýrsla til Rannsóknasjóðs Vegagerðarinnar. Mars 2009, p. 5 ( PDF ); Access: 19. April 2011 (Icelandic)
  6. ↑ Kverkfjöll near Vatnajökull National Park ( Memento of the original dated November 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.vatnajokulsthjodgardur.is
  7. ^ Translation from English. Original text: "These results show that no volcanic eruption has occurred on the Kverkfjöll volcanic system outside of the central volcano in historical times (ie the past 1200 years), which is surprising because the Kverkfjöll system is situated above the center of the mantle plume. “ Thor Thordarson, Armann Hoskuldsson: Iceland. Classic Geology in Europe 3. Harpenden 2002, p. 177.
  8. ↑ Magnús T. Guðmundsson / Þórdís Högnadóttir: Jökullón í Vestari Kverkfjöllum, þróun og jökulhlaupahætta. Skýrsla til Rannsóknasjóðs Vegagerðarinnar. Mars 2009, p. 4 ( PDF ); Accessed April 19, 2011 (Icelandic)
  9. ↑ http://www.ruv.is/frett/gufusprengingar-vid-kverkfjoll RÚV, August 17, 2013; Retrieved September 15, 2013
  10. ↑ http://www.mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2013/08/16/haegt_hefur_a_vexti_hlaupsins/ Mbl, August 16, 2013; Retrieved September 15, 2013
  11. ↑ http://www.ruv.is/frett/gufusprengingar-vid-kverkfjoll RÚV, August 17, 2013; Retrieved September 15, 2013
  12. ↑ http://www.ruv.is/frett/naid-fylgst-med-kverkfjollum RÚV, August 21, 2013; Retrieved September 15, 2013
  13. ↑ Own trans .; isl.Text: Í júní 1998, varð skyndilega vart við mikinn gufustrók sem stóð upp úr Hveradalnum. Næst þegar gengið var upp í Hveradalinn var lónið sem þar hafði verið árum saman horfið með öllu en í þess stað blöstu við miklir leirhveririn. In: ( http://www.islandia.is/hamfarir/jardfraedilegt/eldgos/kverkfjoll.html ( Memento from January 26, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) ); Accessed April 19, 2011 (Icelandic)
  14. ↑ cf. Inga Soley Kristjönudóttir: Kverkfjöll. Úttekt á fornleifum. Rit fornleifaverndar ríkisins. 2008, p. 10 [PDF file]; Accessed September 20, 2010
  15. ↑ http://www.nat.is/fjallaskalareng/accommodations_in_highland_Kort.htm (English); Accessed June 23, 2011
  16. ↑ http://www.nat.is/fjallaskalareng/accommodations_in_highland_Kort.htm (English); Accessed June 23, 2011
  17. ^ Website of the Vatnajökull National Park ( Memento of the original from July 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Retrieved September 20, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.vatnajokulsthjodgardur.is
  18. ↑ cf. z. B. the Icelandic Meteorological Office responsible for earthquake measurements: http://www.vedur.is/um-vi/frettir/2008/nr/1240 ; Accessed September 20, 2010
  19. ↑ Ómar Ragnarsson: SAMBAND Á MILLI SKJÁLFTANNA OG FYLLINGAR HÁLSLÓNS? September 14, 2007, Retrieved November 24, 2015 (Icelandic).