Glaciers of Iceland
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The Glaciers of Iceland cover about 11% of the land area of Iceland and have a considerable impact on the country's landscape.
Many Icelandic glaciers lie above volcanos. One of the well-known and most active being Grímsvötn and Bárðarbunga which lie under the largest glacier, Vatnajökull. The caldera of Grímsvötn is 100 km², and Bárðarbungu is 60 km². When volcanic activity occurs under the glacier, the resulting melt water can lead to a sudden glacial lake outburst flood known as jökulhlaup.
Note that the Icelandic word for Glacier is jökull .
[edit] Largest Glaciers by surface area
| Glacier | Area | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vatnajökull | 8.300 km² |
| 2 | Langjökull | 953 km² |
| 3 | Hofsjökull | 925 km² |
| 4 | Mýrdalsjökull | 596 km² |
| 5 | Drangajökull | 160 km² |
| 6 | Eyjafjallajökull | 78 km² |
| 7 | Tungnafellsjökull | 48 km² |
| 8 | Þórisjökull | 32 km² |
| 9 | Eiríksjökull | 22 km² |
| 10 | Þrándarjökull | 22 km² |
| 11 | Tindfjallajökull | 19 km² |
| 12 | Torfajökull | 15 km² |
| 13 | Snæfellsjökull | 11 km² |
