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Jökulsárgljúfur National Park was founded in 1973 and is publicly owned. Located on the west bank of the glacial river Jökulsá á Fjöllum, the National Park extends 30 km, from Asbyrgi in the north to Dettifoss waterfall in the south, covering 120 sq. kilometres. The northernmost part, Asbyrgi, was incorporated into the National Park in 1978. The park was created to protect the canyon formed by the immense Jökulsá á Fjöllum glacial river and to help safeguard the surrounding area, its wildlife and history.
The Icelandic Forestry Commission acquired Ásbyrgi in 1928 and shortly afterwards the innermost section of the canyon was fenced off. The Iceland Forestry Service still manages the forests inside Asbyrgi although it belongs to the National park. Asbyrgi certainly is one of Iceland´s natural wonders – 3,5 km long canyon with up to 100 m high walls. It was created by two catastrophic flood waves from Europe´s largest glacier Vatnajokull far in the south. The first flood occurred about 8-10 thousand and the second about 3000 years ago.The catastrophic floods caused a wholesale removal of bedrock and left imprints along the river all the way south to their source in Vatnajökull. The well vegetated area in Asbyrgi between the canyon walls is a very popular recreational area, especially among families, and local festivals are celebrated there. In its middle is a freestanding and precipitous rock called "The Island". The canyon is partly wooded, mainly with birch, willow, larch and fur.
Jökulsá á Fjöllum rises beneath the Vatnajökull icecap and enters the sea at Öxarfjörður bay. From its source the river flows across a high plateau dotted with isolated palagonite peaks and scarred with lava flows. At the edge of the highlands the land drops and the river becomes more turbulent and forms several huge waterfalls, tumbling into the canyon which bears its name. The Jökulsárgljúfur canyon is one of the largest and most impressive river canyon in Iceland. It is 25 km long, ½ km wide and in many places more than 100 metres deep. Jökulsárgljúfur is located in the palagonite belt of northern Iceland, in one of the most volcanically active areas in the country.
A wide range of plants grow in the shelter afforded by the rocks and cliffs in the National Park and approximately 230 species of vascular plants have been recorded. Jökulsárgljúfur provides a range of habitats for birds.
The upper part of the canyon, around the waterfall Dettifoss, is the deepest and most spectacular section, up to 120 metres in depth. Dettifoss is in summer the most powerful waterfall in Europe, measured in cubic meters per second. Dettifoss is 45 metres high and 100 metres wide and downstream there is the 27 metre high Hafragilsfoss and upstream from Dettifoss is Selfoss, only 10 metres high but much wider than the other waterfalls. This series of cataracts forms a spectacle without comparison in Europe.
According to the viking mythology, Asbyrgi was created when Wooden, the chief pagan god, was once riding his eight legged horse around the world and it put down one of its legs and created this hoof like expression in the landscape. A road lies almost all the way to its bottom, where it is nice to walk about and enjoy the surroundings.
The distance to Jokulsargjufur National Park from the Reykjavik is about 545 km and 65 km from the town of Husavik. The National Park is open throughout the year but the roads become impassable soon after the first snowfall and remain so well into May and June. The use of motor vehicles is only permitted on roads. Please contact the National Park Manager if you plan to visit the park outside the summer service season.
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