Rit (Vísindafélag Íslendinga) - 01.07.1931, Síða 27

27
Fig. 15. The (wo eastern tongues from W with the fixing
mark Din. In the background Qeldingafeli. 20h 1930.
ture with height on the westcoast of Iceland. The movement
of the skridjökuls and the rate of ablation ought to be
measured. The water-discharge will be difficult to measure
except that from the crater glacier on the NW-side, where
the ground consists of older basalt formations.
THE EV]AF]ALLA]ÖKULL
The Eyjafjallajökull is the western prolongation of the great
glacier complex Mýrdalsjökull, which according to Thoroddsen
covers an area of 1000 km2. The top of Eyjafjallajökull is a
horseshoe formed ridge enclosing a great cratercirque that
opens towards N. On the eastern slope of Mýrdalsjökull is
the crater Katla, famous for its explosive ash-eruptions ac-
companied by enormous outbursts of water and ice blocks.
The top of Eyjafjallajökull reaches the height of 1666 m.
on the southern edge of the crater. The length of the firn area
is about 20 km. and the breadth about 6 km. The southern
margin of the whole glacier complex runs almost parallel with
the southern coast of Iceland at a distance of 10—15 km.
Climatic Conditions and Height of the Firnlimit.
No meteorological observations are available from the immediate
neighbourhood of Eyjafjallajökull, the nearest station being