Reykjahlíð
Reykjahlíð | ||
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Coordinates | 65 ° 39 ′ N , 16 ° 55 ′ W | |
Basic data | ||
Country | Iceland | |
Norðurland eystra | ||
ISO 3166-2 | IS-6 | |
local community | Skútustaðir | |
Residents | 210 (January 1, 2019) | |
Reykjahlíð [ 'rεiːcaˌl̥iːð ] ( Eng . "Smoke slope") is a place in northeast Iceland. It is the main town in the municipality of Skútustaðir in the Norðurland eystra region . On January 1, 2019, 210 inhabitants lived in the village.
geography
Reykjahlíð is located northeast of the Mývatn (Eng. "Mückensee"). Northeast is the the Krafla belonging -Vulkansystem Hlíðarfjall , slightly further away the Leirhnjúkur .
To the east of Reykjahlíð is the mountain Námafjall , which can be reached via the pass Námaskarð . The caves Stóragjá and Grjótagjá and the Tuffring Hverfell can be found south and south-east of the village . The Fremri-Námur volcano system is located about 25 km south of Reykjahlíð.
climate
Since no month has an average temperature of over 10 ° C, Reykjahlíð can be assigned to the arctic climate zone. Due to its eastern location, which removes the place from the maritime influence of the North Atlantic Current, Reykjahlíð has a comparatively more continental climate than places more south-westerly in Iceland. This favors the occurrence of more extreme temperatures than on the west coast of Iceland, which is also reflected in the record temperatures of 25.6 ° C (July) and −30.9 ° C (March).
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Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Reykjahlíð
Source: Icelandic Meteorological Office
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history
The settlement narrowly escaped a catastrophe in 1729 at the time of the Mývatn fires ( Krafla volcanic eruptions ). Fortunately, the residents were all gathered in the slightly higher church when a large lava flow destroyed their houses, but spared the church hill. Today's church was built on the same site and consecrated in 1962.
Culture and sights
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Blue_Lagoon_in_M%C3%BDvatn_%284%29.jpg/220px-Blue_Lagoon_in_M%C3%BDvatn_%284%29.jpg)
Reykjahlið is the starting point for Krafla with its steaming solfataras and the turquoise blue crater Víti (Eng. "Hell"), to Námaskarð , to Hverfjall and to the pseudocraters of Skútustaðir . About 2000 years ago, the Dimmuborgir (Eng. "Dark castles"), a labyrinth of lava formations, formed.
There are two caves filled with warm water near Reykjahlíð. An underground lava flow has meanwhile heated the water in the Grjótagjá too much for a bath. Closer to the place is the Stóragjá . The water exchange in it is too low for a safe bath.
In addition to the outdoor pool in the east of the village, there has also been a natural pool called Jarðböð (earth baths) with turquoise geothermal water similar to the well-known Blue Lagoon on the Reykjanes Peninsula since June 30, 2004 .
traffic
The main thoroughfare of Iceland's Hringvegur runs through the village . The distance to the capital Reykjavík is 488 kilometers and to Egilsstaðir 165 kilometers by road.