Ásbyrgi
![Asbyrgi Visitor Centre](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/Asbyrgi_Visitor_Centre.jpg/220px-Asbyrgi_Visitor_Centre.jpg)
![Eyjan cliff in Asbyrgi canyon.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Asbyrgi-Eyjan-June2022.jpg/220px-Asbyrgi-Eyjan-June2022.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/Canyon_in_%C3%81sbyrgi%2C_Hiking_trail_from_Dettifoss_to_%C3%81sbyrgi%2C_Iceland_15.jpg/220px-Canyon_in_%C3%81sbyrgi%2C_Hiking_trail_from_Dettifoss_to_%C3%81sbyrgi%2C_Iceland_15.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/%C3%81sbyrgi-pjt2.jpg/250px-%C3%81sbyrgi-pjt2.jpg)
Ásbyrgi (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈausˌpɪrcɪ]) is a glacial canyon and forest in the north of Iceland, located approximately 38 kilometres (24 mi) east of Húsavík on the Diamond Circle road. The horseshoe-shaped depression is part of the Vatnajökull National Park and measures approximately 3.5 km in length and over 1 km wide.[1] For more than half of its length, the canyon is divided through the middle by a distinctive rock formation 25 meters high called Eyjan ([ˈeiːjan], "the Island"), from which a vast landscape is seen.[citation needed]
The canyon's steep sides are formed by cliffs up to 100 metres (330 ft) in height. Within the canyon is a woodland of birch and willow. Between 1947 and 1977, a number of foreign tree species were introduced, including spruce, larch and pine. The small lake Botnstjörn [ˈpɔsːˌtʰjœ(r)tn̥] is home to a variety of waterfowl species.[citation needed]
Ásbyrgi was most likely formed by catastrophic glacial flooding of the river Jökulsá á Fjöllum after the last ice age, first 8–10,000 years ago, and then again some 3,000 years ago. The river has since changed its course and now runs about 2 km to the east.
The legend explains the unusual shape of the canyon differently. Nicknamed Sleipnir's footprint, it is said that the canyon was formed when Odin's eight-legged horse, Sleipnir, touched one of its feet to the ground here.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ "About Ásbyrgi". Vatnajökull National Park.
External links
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Photos
- Pictures from Ásbyrgi www.islandsmyndir.is
- Official Website of Vatnajökull National Park
66°00′52″N 16°30′12″W / 66.01444°N 16.50333°W
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