Skaftafell
| Skaftafell | |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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View east from the campsite towards Öræfajökull
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| Location | Southern Iceland |
| Coordinates | 64°00′58″N 16°58′19″W / 64.016°N 16.972°WCoordinates: 64°00′58″N 16°58′19″W / 64.016°N 16.972°W |
| Area | 4,807 km2 |
| Established | September 15, 1967 |
Skaftafell (
listen ) is a preservation area in Öræfi, southeast Iceland. It used to be a manor farm and a national park, but has been a part of Vatnajökull National Park since its establishment in 2008.
Skaftafell National Park was a national park, situated between Kirkjubæjarklaustur, typically referred to as Klaustur, and Höfn in the south of Iceland. On 7 June 2008, it became a part of the larger Vatnajökull National Park.
It was founded on September 15, 1967, and enlarged twice afterwards. Before its inclusion into Vatnajökull National Park, it measured about 4807 km2 (2884 mi2), making it Iceland's second largest national park. It contains the valley Morsárdalur, the mountain Kristínartindar and the glacier Skaftafellsjökull (a spur of the Vatnajökull ice cap).
The landscape is very similar to some of the Alps, but it has been formed over thousands of years by different influences of fire (volcanic eruptions of Öræfajökull) and water (the glaciers Skeiðarájökull and Skaftafellsjökull), the rivers Skeiðará, Morsá und Skaftafellsá. Volcanic eruptions under the ice-cap can give rise to jökulhlaups (glacial floods) which swell the Skeiðará river massively. The sandy wasteland between the glacier and the sea caused by jökulhlaups is called Skeiðarársandur, and is a typical outwash plain known locally as a sandur. The last large jökulhlaup occurred in 1996.
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