The Botany of Iceland - 01.12.1945, Blaðsíða 18

II. GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY
i. TOPOGRAPHY
Four parts of the Icelandic highland are comprised by my investiga-
tions. Two of them are situated south of the high mountain range in
which the main glaciers of the country are found (cf. the map in
Fig. i), while the third lies north of Vatnajökull, and the fourth near
the northeastern side of the same glacier. In addition observations were
occasionally made along the route across the country, especially from
Geldingsá south of Eyjafjörður und Eyvindarver near Þjórsá south of
Hofsjökull. These regions are essentially different and must be dealt
with separately in order to make the description more perspicuous. It
is a common feature of all these regions that the vegetation forms larger
or smaller oases separated by barren sandy tracts or fell-fields either
devoid of or with a highly scattered vegetation. For this reason the
investigations were limited almost exclusively to these oases, since they
formed fixed stations which offered the possibility for lengthy stays.
The individual regions are mentioned here in the order in which I
visited them.
A. Landmannaafrjettur.1
The part of Landmannaafrjettur which was investigated by me is
situated between Torfajökull and Tungnaá and extends westward to
the mountains of Sauðleysur and eastward to Jökuldalir on Skaptár-
tunguafrjettur. The main stations were as follows:
i. Environs of Landmannahellir.—The area covered
with vegetation here is situated in a depression or valley along a small
1 afrjettur = mountain pasture, where the sheep graze in the summer. Land-
mannaafrjettur = the pastures of the Landmenn = the inhabitants of the region
Land. Cf. Síðumannaafrjettur = the pastures of the inhabitants of the region Síða.