Jokulsa a Fjollum is the second longest river in Iceland (206 km)

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Jokulsa a Fjollum is the second longest river in Iceland (206 km). Its source is the Vatnajokull glacier. It flows into the Greenland Sea. Jokulsa a Fjollum streams over the waterfalls Selfoss, Dettifoss, and Hafragilsfoss, the second of which is the most powerful waterfall in Europe, and through the canyon at Jokulsorgljufur National Park, which was formed by the explosion of a volcano situated directly beneath the river. Consequently the course of the river changed to fit the mountains. The gorge Asbyrgi was formed by the river in the shape of a horseshoe. The park is one of three national parks in Iceland. The largest Jokulhlaups (glacial floods) in Iceland are known to have occurred along Jokulsa a Fjollum between 7100 and 2000 yr. The source of these floods were likely an eruption of Bardarbunga, the central volcano under the Vatnajokull glacier, in the late Holocene. The peak volume of this flood is estimated to have been 900,000m3/s of water discharge. This compares to the Amazon river, which has an average discharge of 209,000m3/s of water. The river is located in the northeast of Iceland and forms the eastern boundary of Odadahraun, an extensive lava field. Its drainage basin is the largest in Iceland at 7380 square kilometers.

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Size: 5571px × 3677px
Location: North East iceland F910
Photo credit: © dawn brealey / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
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Keywords: 2000, 7100, bardarbunga, central, east, eruption, f910, field, fjollum, floods, glacial, ice, iceland, jokulsa, lava, longest, north, occurred, river, source, vatnajokull, volcanic, volcano, yr.