2 Jun 2017 - Iceland Day 8: Ásbyrgi Canyon

After continuously visited three waterfalls in a row, we drove to Ásbyrgi Canyon to see something different. Ásbyrgi - the Shelter of the Gods, is part of the Vatnajökull National Park and measures approximately 3.5 km in length and 1.1 km across.

Down in the canyon, we walked through a woodland of birch and willow.

A short hike in the canyon led us to a small lake Botnstjörn, which is home to a variety of waterfowl species.

There were two lookout points to view the amazing landscape in the middle of the canyon. 

Ásbyrgi was most likely formed by catastrophic glacial flooding of the river Jökulsá á Fjöllum after the last Ice Age, first 8-10,000 years ago, and then again some 3,000 years ago.

The canyon's steep sides are formed by cliffs up to 100 metres in height.

As it began to drizzle again, we took the trail back to the car park.

On our drive out of Ásbyrgi Canyon, we saw a distinctive rock formation 25 meters high called Eyjan ("the Island").  In fact, Ásbyrgi is divided in the middle by Eyjan

We took a short break at the Ásbyrgi Visitor Centre before continuing our road trip.

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