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The Eldja fault and lava bed was created in the 10th century. It is the greatest explosive fault in the world : an eight kilometers long fissure was formed. Since then, erosion has done its work. The Eldja fault is one of the must see in Iceland.
Vik, with a population of about 300 inhabitants, is Iceland's southernmost village. It is also the rainiest place of the country. Close to the coast, lay a group of small islands. They are the remains of an ancient lava bed, eroded by the ocean.
As can be seen on this picture, the whole area in the vicinity of Vik is green. The grass is thick and makes an excellent feed for sheep, horses and cows. The Vik area is one, if not the greatest farming area in Iceland.
The climate of southern Iceland is warmer than in other parts of the country that allows a great deal of farming when the soils allows it. There are few fields, and here, farming means mainly cattle growing.
A hiking trail starts from here and follows the river, crossing a pass where Eyjafjallajökull and Myrdalsjökull met into a single glacier, years ago.The Skogar Folk Museum is a 1/2 km east of the fall. It features a large collection of fishing gear, including the 17 men fishing boat, the Petersey, a twin masted open boat built in 1855 and used until 1940 on fishing trips between Vik and the Vestmann Islands. It is a tough and tubby boat as Vik has no harbor and the boat would have had to be beached. Outside of the main museum are several historic buildings that have been relocated to the site together with the usual household items from the past.
Seljalandsfoss is worth the visit not only because it is a one shot fall but moreover because it is one of the few falls where you can go ''behind the curtain'' ! The view is quite impressive, but be sure to have waterproof clothing !
After inland Iceland, we drove back to the coast. Seljalandsfoss is not far from the sea. It is very thin and there is not as much water flowing than in other falls, but it is a one shot fall and worth the visit...
We could not go any further. The track went across the emissary of the Vatnajökull lake but the water was too high. It was too early in summer (mid July) as a lot of snow was still melting. An Icelander in an even taller car went back too.
The slabs of ice on the surface of the lake are drawn by the flow towards it's emissary. They accumulate and block partly the outgoing flow, which increases the level of the lake, until the ice wall breaks.A few years after our travel, the Vatnajökull erupted, and now the landscape is quite different.
The Vatnajökull is the largest glacier of Europe and the third largest ice mass in the world. It covers one tenth of the surface of the island. It stretches 90 miles from east to west and averages 35 miles from north to south.The lower end of the Vatnajökull pours into a small lake. On the surface of the lake, small ''icebergs'' are floating
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