Torfajökull

Torfajökull
Torfajökull area
Highest point
Elevation	1,259 m (4,131 ft)
Coordinates	63°55′00″N 19°10′00″W / 63.91667°N 19.16667°W / 63.91667; -19.16667Coordinates: 63°55′00″N 19°10′00″W / 63.91667°N 19.16667°W / 63.91667; -19.16667
Geography
Torfajökull Iceland
Geology
Age of rock	Pleistocene
Mountain type	Stratovolcano
Last eruption	March 1477

Torfajökull (Icelandic for "Torfi's glacier") is a rhyolitic stratovolcano and complex of subglacial volcanoes, located north of Mýrdalsjökull and south of Þórisvatn Lake, Iceland. Torfajökull last erupted in 1477 and consists of the largest area of silicic extrusive rocks in Iceland.

The volcano's eruption around 870 has left a thin layer of tephra all over Iceland. This layer makes possible to determine the exact dates of many archeological finds, like in the Reykjavík 871±2 museum.

Naming

According to legend, the glacier is named for Torfi Jónsson í Klofa, an Icelandic historical figure. When the plague arrived in Iceland in 1493, Torfi fled with his family and his belongings into the highlands and settled in a valley surrounded by the glacier.^[1]

According to another legend, the glacier is named for Torfi, a farm worker at a nearby farm. Torfi eloped with the farmer's daughter and fled to the glacier.^[2]

See also

• List of volcanoes in Iceland
• Volcanism in Iceland

References

• "Torfajökull". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. 

Glaciers of Iceland
Drangajökull Eiríksjökull Eyjafjallajökull Geitlandsjökull Hofsjökull Langjökull Mýrdalsjökull Snæfellsjökull Þrándarjökull Þórisjökull Tindfjallajökull Torfajökull Tungnafellsjökull Vatnajökull