Rit (Vísindafélag Íslendinga) - 01.07.1962, Qupperneq 21

21
a) 6—7 m conglomerate, partly very coarse. Formed of old
basalts; distorted and altered.
b) 4—5 m light-coloured sandstone.
c) 14 m river gravel.
d) 10 m light yellow-grey sandstone of eolian origin. At the
top it is broken and distorted, the layers being twisted
nearly 90°; probably cryoturbation.
e) 114 m undisturbed fine river gravel.
f) 1Y2 m pumice-sandstone.
g) 45—50 m brown sandstone with layers of river gravel.
h) 20 m scoriae and kubbaberg, reverse magnetization. This
is again covered by 4m eolian sand and then the main
series of lavas (reverse magnetization).
The two sections are similar; they contain largely gravel
and sand carried by a river flowing from the south. Further
there is eolian sand; heavy frost is probably indicated by the
distortions of this loess. The layer of pumice sand shows that
the new volcanic cycle has begun in a neighboured area. The
total thickness of the Young lavas left on Hlíðarfjall is of the
order of 150 m.
To the southeast of this spur the old basalts rise to a height
of 800 m. On the east side of Austurdalur these basalts rise
still higher. It is worth noticing there that at the higher eleva-
tions the lavas dip only slightly, while the dip increases down-
wards. The considerable dip in the floor of our Young rocks
may indicate a previous erosion down to the dipping lavas,
i.e. a valley floor. The Young lavas would thus seem to have
flowed in a valley — of the Younger 300 m stage. The thick-
ness and nature of the sediments also indicates this. But it
is difficult to prove this point because of the lack of out-
crops, and a different opinion will later emerge.
2. The spur between Hofsá and Vestari-Jökulsá. The Young
rocks form a cover above an elevation of about 520 m. An ex-
posure is found in the east side of Sauðafell. The old basalts
dip here slightly south, but from a distance the discordance