Snæfellsjökull
The mountain is one of the most famous sites of Iceland, primarily due to the novel Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) by Jules Verne, in which the protagonists find the entrance to a passage leading to the center of the Earth on Snæfellsjökull.
The mountain is part of Snæfellsjökull National Park (Icelandic: Þjóðgarðurinn Snæfellsjökull).
Snæfellsjökull was visible from an extreme distance due to an arctic mirage on 17 July 1939. Captain Robert Bartlett of the Effie M. Morrissey sighted Snæfellsjökull from a position some 536 to 560 kilometres (289–302 nmi) distant.
In August 2012, the summit was ice-free for the first time in recorded history. The icecap area had been 16 km (6.2 sq mi) in 1946, 14 km (5.4 sq mi) in 1999 reducing to 10–11 km (3.9–4.2 sq mi) in 2008.
Geology
The stratovolcano, which is the only large central volcano in its part of Iceland, has many pyroclastic cones on its flanks. Upper-flank craters produced intermediate to felsic materials. Several holocene eruptions have originated from the summit crater and have produced felsic material, with pumice from the two most recent major eruptions being alkaline trachyte trending in composition close to rhyolite. Lower-flank craters have produced basaltic lava flows with classic basalt composition. The latest flank eruption was of 0.11 km (0.0264 cu mi) of basaltic material in the 4.5 km (1.7 sq mi) Væjuhraun lava flow and occurred shortly after the last central volcano eruption. This main eruption had been explosive and originated from the summit crater. It is dated to about 200 CE, and was also associated with the eruption of viscous lava that covered 30 km (12 sq mi). In all three large, perhaps up to VEI 4 plinian rhyolitic eruptions have occurred during the Holocene producing tephra. These occurred about 1800, 4000 and 8500 years ago.
Snæfellsjökull is also associated with a fissure field that last erupted to the west forming the Væjuhraun lava flow as already mentioned. To the east of Snæfellsjökull this fissure field last erupted between 5 and 8 thousand years ago. This eruption formed the 18 km (6.9 sq mi) Búðahraun lava field from the crater Búðaklettur, south-west of Búðir. This is part of the Snæfellsjökull volcanic system which in turn is part of the Snæfellsnes volcanic belt (Snæfellsnes volcanic zone). This is an area of renewed intra-plate volcanism in the North American Plate, with rocks no older locally than 800,000 years, that overlay an extinct rift zone that produced the more than 5 million years old crustal basement tholeiitic flood basalts of the Snæfellsnes peninsula.
Hazards
The Snæfellsjökull volcanic system has the potential for lava flows, explosive tephra eruptions (e.g. air traffic during a major rhyolitic eruption), tsunami generation (perhaps one flank collapse has occurred historically) and Jökulhlaups.
Climbing
In summer, the saddle near the summit can be reached easily by walking, although the glacier's crevasses must be avoided. Several tour companies run regular guided walks during the season. Reaching the true summit requires technical ice climbing.
In culture
Literature
Snæfellsjökull serves as the entrance to the subterranean journey in Jules Verne's classic science fiction novel, Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864). It is also featured in the 1960s Blind Birds trilogy by Czech SF writer Ludvík Souček, loosely inspired by Verne's work. While trying to discern whether Verne actually visited Iceland, a Czechoslovak-Icelandic science party discovers an ancient alien outpost in the cave system under Snæfellsjökull.
It also figures prominently in the novel Under the Glacier (1968) by Icelandic Nobel laureate Halldór Laxness.
Radio and podcasting
Snæfellsjökull is the setting and subject of "Lava and Ice" (episode 2) of Wireless Nights, Jarvis Cocker's BBC Radio 4 and podcast series.
Presidential election
The campaign "Snæfellsjökul fyrir forseta" proposed Snæfellsjökul as a candidate in the 2024 Icelandic presidential election, asserting that it met the requirements of being an Icelandic citizen, aged over 35, with no criminal record, and with a supporting petition.
See also
- Geography of Iceland
- Glaciers of Iceland
- Iceland plume
- List of national parks of Iceland
- Volcanism of Iceland