Rit (Vísindafélag Íslendinga) - 01.07.1931, Page 15

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Fig. 5. The Snæfellsjöhull from S.
in other countries. Where the ground consists of solid rock,
so that fixing marks can be placed very near the glacier,
this method may be fairly usable. By the Icelandic glaciers,
however, where the ground generally consists of tuff or
breccia, and enormous moraine walls are built up in front of
the glaciers, this method must be abandoned as quite inade-
quate. The distance must necessarily be measured by means
of a tachymeter or theodolite.
In the following pages a brief description will be given
of the glaciers visited and the esíablished fixing marks.
THE SNÆFELLSJÖKULL
Site and General Conditions. The glacier is situated
near the westernmost point of the 70 km. long and very
narrow peninsula, Snæfellsnes, that separates the Faxabay
from the Breidafjord on the westcoast of Iceland. The firn
area covers a rather regularly dome-shaped volcano separated
by a low pass from the mountain range of Snæfellsnes. — The
firn area covers about 50 km^ and the »skridjökuls« 30 km^.
The most interesting feature of this glacier is its isolated
site very near the seaboard that surrounds it on three sides.
The distances from the top of the glacier to the shore are:
to S = 7,5 km., to W = 9 km., to NW = 13 km. and to