© Iceland Day Trips

Official Tour Operator

Address: Thinghólsbraut 24

Zip: 200 Kópavogur

Iceland

Tel: +354 6986797

daytrips@icelanddaytrips.com

  • Reviews

  • Customized Tours

  • Day Trips

  • About

  • Blog

  • Blog

  • More

    • Wix Facebook page
    • Reviews

    • Customized Tours

    • Day Trips

    • About

    • Blog

    • Blog

    • More

      ICELAND DAY TRIPS​                                  OFFICIAL TOUR OPERATOR​

      Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland

      April 6, 2018

      Turf house architecture trends in Iceland

      March 15, 2018

      Glaciers in Iceland

      March 8, 2018

      Iceland: A Hotspot!

      March 1, 2018

      Go to Iceland for a surprising experience

      November 23, 2015

      The Northern Lights in Iceland

      November 6, 2015

      Iceland - a safe place to travel

      November 6, 2015

      Have you ever seen the Northern Lights?

      November 5, 2015

      Please reload

      Recent Posts

      I'm busy working on my blog posts. Watch this space!

      Please reload

      Featured Posts
      Geology

      Glaciers in Iceland

      March 8, 2018

      The glaciers and ice caps of Iceland cover 11.1% of the land area of the country (about 11,400 km² out of the total area of 103,125 km²) and have a considerable impact on its landscape and meteorology. An ice cap is a mass of glacial ice. Nowadays glaciers are also contributing to the Icelandic economy, with tourists flocking to the country to see glaciers on snowmobiles and on glacier hiking tours. 
      Iceland is losing ice due to climate change. The glacier “Okjökull” glacier in West Iceland has lost its glacier title and is now simply known as “Ok”. In order to fit the criteria glaciers need to be thick enough to sink and move under their own weight, which Ok is not. Ok is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its title
      In Iceland we count 13 glaciers, the smallest one Snæfellsjökull covering an area of about 11 square kilo meters and the largest one covering up to 8.300 square kilo meters, Vatnajökull glacier, Europe´s largest glacier and one of the largest plateau icecap in the world. 
      Glaciers form where mean annual temperatures are below 0°C, and where snow and winter surpasses summer melt. Mean annual temperatures in the coastal areas around Iceland lie everywhere well above 0°C, but temperatures are generally below that in areas above 600-700 MASL. This means that glaciers are located in highlands and mountainous areas.
      The glacier Vatnajökull began formation 2.500 years ago but three thousand years ago the Ice Age glacier had disappeared altogether. During the ice age however, most of Iceland was covered by a large glacier ice cap. Average thickness of Vatnajökull glacier is around 450 m, the thickest about 900 m and below the glacier there are few active central volcanoes.
      The size of the glaciers has got to do with the climate. In warmer periods the glaciers retreat and during cold periods the glaciers advance, surge and form glacier outlets. Glacier outlets form because of the weight of the ice. When the weight becomes too heavy the glacier advances, calves and can reach all the way to the shore.
      Glacial rivers are formed due to melting of the ice because of volcanic and geothermal activity underneath the glaciers. When volcanic activity occurs under the glacier, the resulting meltwater can lead to a sudden glacial outburst flood, known in Icelandic as jökulhlaup. 
      A glacier outburst flood can happen when water gets trapped underneath the ice and the geothermal and volcanic activity continues to melt the ice until the barriers brake and causes flooding. These rivers flow for many years and carry with them mud, sand and rocks that are then all that is left when the rivers dry up or start flowing in another direction, leaving nothing behind but black desert sands.
       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

      Tags:

      Iceland

      glaciers

      iceland day trips

      iceland day tours

      private tours

      vatnajökull

      snæfellsjökull

      snaefellsnes

      vatnajokull

      okglacier

      Please reload

      Follow Us

      Day tour

      Day trips

      Iceland

      Niceland

      Viðey

      blue lagoon

      capital

      capital city

      capital of Iceland

      caving

      day tours

      day trips

      easter islands

      eruption

      exclusive tours

      galapagos

      glaciers

      hawaii

      hotspot

      iceland

      iceland day tours

      iceland day trips

      islands in iceland

      mantle plume

      nightlife

      northern lights

      northernlights

      okglacier

      pangea

      private tours

      reykjavik

      reykjavík

      safe travel

      sailing

      snaefellsnes

      snæfellsjökull

      turf house

      vatnajokull

      vatnajökull

      videy

      volcano

      yellowstone

      Please reload

      Search By Tags

      April 2018 (1)

      March 2018 (3)

      November 2015 (4)

      Please reload

      Archive
      • Facebook Basic Square
      • Twitter Basic Square
      • Google+ Basic Square