Sprengisandur
The Sprengisandur is part of the Icelandic highlands . It lies between the Hofsjökull and Vatnajökull glaciers , mostly at altitudes between 700 and 800 m. Its limitations are somewhat vague; in the south it is roughly delimited by Eyvindarver , a moorland east of the river Þjórsá (part of the Þjórsárver ), in the north by the Kiðagil gorge . Its width is about 30 km, its length about 70 km.
At the same time, the highland piste F26 leading through this area is also called this ( the Sprengisandur), but in Icelandic it is actually called Sprengisandsleið , but the name Sprengisandur for the piste is also common.
Surname
The name Sprengisandur arose from the fact that horses should "blast" over it as quickly as possible in order to soon be able to leave the dangerous route behind them and find grass and water again.
Therefore the Íslandshandbókin refers to the older name Sprengir .
The proper name Sprengisandur has been known since at least 1476 from a court judgment regarding the highland portions (the pasture ground there) in Holtamanna- and Landmannaafrétt. The actual Sprengisandur was probably a flat sand plain west of the lake Fjórðungsvatn, over which the people rode extremely fast.
The name Gásasandur seems to be even older .
Sprengisandur slope
The Sprengisandur slope, isl. Sprengisandsleið , at around 200 km, is the longest of the Icelandic highland slopes in north-south direction. It runs right through the middle of the highlands of Iceland and roughly follows the rift zone from southwest to northeast and turns to the west similar to this north of Vatnajökull.
course
It leads from the south past the Hekla , where a side path ( Fjallabaksleið nyrðri , 208) branches off to Landmannalaugar . In a northerly direction, the path mostly runs on ridges between the Vatnajökull and Hofsjökull glaciers . Near the northern end of the Sprengisandur is the Aldeyjarfoss waterfall .
Some streams and smaller rivers cross the route and have to be ford. The most important is the ford near the Nýidalur hut . In summer, however, the Sprengisandur can be driven on by off-road vehicles without any problems. It is usually opened to traffic from the end of June to the beginning of July and is generally open to the public until the end of August.
However, it is a special experience to discover this route by horse like in the old days.
Stations
The following attractions are located from south to north on or near the Sprengisandur slope:
Hrauneyjar
If you travel the highland route from south to north, the route usually begins in Hrauneyjar.
When the Landsvirkjun company started building the power plants on the middle Þjórsá and lower Tungnaá in the 1970s, accommodation was needed for the workers who were involved. These are now used as a hotel and highland hut with a café. The closest power plant, Hrauneyjavirkjun, has an output of 210 MW.
The place is named after small islands in the Tungnaá, which have disappeared in the Hrauneyjalón reservoir since 1982, as has the Hrauneyjafoss waterfall named after them .
Thórisvatn reservoir
The largest of the many reservoirs in the area is on the east side of the runway on the way north. It is the Þórisvatn , with an area between 83 and 88 km² the largest lake in Iceland and thus even larger than the Þingvallavatn .
Búðarháls
Búðarháls is an elongated ridge, oriented from southwest to northeast, which extends up to about 600–700 m in height and lies in the west of the southern Sprengisandur slope. The best view is from the Innri-Háls (685 m) over 6 glaciers in Iceland.
The ridge is in its lower layers of Olivinbasalt that emanated into the intermediate ice ages, the upper layers are hyaloclastite from the cold periods of the ice age .
In a westerly direction, the Búðarháls falls in steep steps to the Þjórsá river. This side is also furrowed by small ravines.
Before the bridge was built over the Tungnaá near Sigalda, the track followed the ridge.
This is hardly covered by vegetation.
Nyidalur
To the west of Tungnafellsjökull is the Nýidalur valley (German: the new valley ). It is also called Jokuldalur . Its highest parts, which are most overgrown, point to the north. The average height above sea level M. is 800 m.
The valley was discovered in 1845 and is mainly used as high pasture for the people from the north from Bárðardalur . Otherwise it is under nature protection.
The valley is crossed by the Nýidalsá river.
At the mouth of the valley to the east is a hut belonging to the Ferðafélag Íslands hiking club . There you also ford the river.
Legends and history of the Sprengisandur route
The Sprengisandur is a very old path that was used a lot from the earliest times of settlement until the high Middle Ages. Different mule tracks are still preserved in traces. However, it was always feared because of its weather changes and its drought.
In earlier times it was also assumed that trolls and evil spirits as well as outlaws could be up to mischief here . Eggert Ólafsson, an enlightener and naturalist, declared the route lost because, like other highland routes, it was hardly used at all in the 18th century.
This superstition found expression in the lyrics of one of the most famous Icelandic folk songs, " Á Sprengisandi ".
At the end of the 18th century, journeys along this route were resumed under the influence of the Enlightenment . The most famous of these is the journey of Einar Brynjólfsson, during which the most famous pair of robbers in Iceland, Halla and Fjalla-Eyvindur, were discovered in Þjórsárver in 1772 .
After that, the path seems to have hardly been walked again at times. The German geologist and Icelandic traveler Gustav Georg Winkler wrote in his travel report from 1861:
"This so-called Sprengisandrweg (Sprengisandr, Springsandboden is called the completely sterile route) had not been used by the locals in the last few centuries. A pastor only came to see it thirty years ago and since then it has been used more often, although there is a second less difficult transition that leads from the Geisir region to the north. "
Winkler then describes his own journey on this route, which took place in 1858. Two years later, the German geologist Ferdinand Zirkel and the English zoologist William Preyer traveled to Iceland together and also report on a crossing of the Sprengisandur desert. In 1897 the researcher Daniel Bruun discovered the way for himself. He initiated a renewed marking of the path with cairns, which was completed in 1907. In 1908 Ina von Grumbkow followed this path on her way to Askja , where she hoped to find out more about the whereabouts of her fiancé, who had disappeared there the year before.
In 1933 a car drove the route for the first time. It had to be carried by boat across the Tungnaá.
More highland routes
The shorter highland road Kjalvegur runs roughly parallel to Sprengisandur 
further west through the highlands. North of Nýidalur, the difficult-to-navigate Austurleið piste branches off 
to the east, leading in a northern and a southern variant along the northern edge of Vatnajökull to Askja .
See also
Web links
- Hiking tour from Skógafoss to Goðafoss
- Passability of the roads, Icelandic road watch, engl.
- The Sprengisandur slope
- Detailed description of the route with many photos, private website
Individual evidence
- ↑ cf. Íslandshandbókin. 2.bindi. 1989, pp. 906f.
- ↑ cf. Vegahandbókin. Ed. Landmælingar Íslands. 2006, p. 432.
- ↑ Íslandshandbókin , ibid., P. 892ff.
- ↑ Íslandshandbókin , ibid., P. 906.
- ↑ cf. FAQ of the Háskóli Íslands http://visindavefur.hi.is/svar.php?id=5386 Accessed: January 17, 2011
- ↑ Vegahandbókin. Ed. Landmælingar Íslands. 2006, p. 434.
- ↑ cf. Map (Sprengisandur = yellow) Archived copy ( memento of the original from November 28, 2010 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. Accessed January 19, 2011
- ↑ cf. engl. Icelandic road patrol website http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20060528014713/www.vegagerdin.is/umferd-og-faerd/faerd-og-astand/faerd-og-vedur/faerd-um-allt-land/ island1.html
- ↑ http://www.hrauneyjar.is/ Accessed January 17, 2011
- ↑ Vegahandbókin , 2006, p. 161.
- ↑ Íslandshandbókin. 2. bindi. 1989, p. 899.
- ↑ Íslandshandbókin. 2. bindi. 1989, p. 895.
- ↑ Vegahandbókin , ibid., P. 161.
- ↑ Íslandshandbókin. 2. bindi. 1989, pp. 903f.
- ↑ Íslandshandbókin. 2. bindi. 1989, p. 892.
- ↑ cf. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLgY9TUxOLc A Sprengisandi song with text on Youtube Accessed: January 17, 2011
- ^ GG Winkler: Iceland. Its inhabitants, land formation and volcanic nature . Westermann, Braunschweig 1861, p. 237-238 .
- ^ F. Zirkel, W. Preyer: Journey to Iceland in the summer of 1860 . Brockhaus, Leipzig 1862, p. 207-230 .
- ↑ cf. her own report in the e-book: http://isafold.de/klassiker/grumbkow/kap_10.htm Accessed: January 19, 2011
- ↑ Íslandshandbókin , ibid.
Coordinates: 64 ° 52 ′ N , 18 ° 7 ′ W