Mývatnsheiði
The Mývatnsheiði is a plateau in the north of Iceland in Lake Myvatn . It borders in the north on the Reykjadalur and in the south on the desert of the Ódáðahraun , in the west on the Bárðardalur and in the east on the valley of the Mývatn. At its highest point it reaches 322 m.
Hof Stöng, Mývatnsheiði
There is only one inhabited farm on Mývatnsheiði; it bears the name Stöng like the famous courtyard in Þjórsárdalur , which was buried in 1104 by a shower of ashes from the Hekla and was reconstructed as a museum courtyard in the 20th century. The somewhat remote Stöng farm - it lives from sheep breeding and tourism - gets its hot water for heating and household purposes from its own borehole. 3 liters of 60 ° C hot water flow out of it every second. On the plateau you can also find the remains of some other now abandoned farms.
Nonskarðsás
The ring road ( Hringvegur ) from Akureyri to Mývatn leads over the plateau. To the north of the road there is a small lake, the Másvatn . Approx. 2–3 km behind the Mávatn, in the direction of Mývatn, there is a crossroads. From here a side path leads to Stöng farm and Bárðardalur. This place is called Nonskarðsás . On a clear day you can see the Mývatn area with the adjoining volcanic mountains and even see the Dyngjufjöll mountain range in the south and the north side of the huge Vatnajökull glacier .
Rivers and fords
If you come down from the Mývatnsheiði, soon after the crossroads northeast (left) of road no. 1, you will be accompanied by the Laxá í Aðaldal , one of the most famous salmon rivers in the country. There you can observe the extremely colorful males of the collar duck (Icelandic straumönd) in early summer .
At the lower edge of the plateau you will find the junction to further farms. One of the farms east of the road is called Helluvað . Vað is the Icelandic word for ford (cf. German “wade”). Indeed, until the middle of the 20th century, the small river Helluvaðsá had to be crossed here on the way to Skútustaðir . A bridge over the Laxá River nearby was not built until 1902. Until then, the Laxá also had to be waded.
