thumb|200px|Iceland as seen from space, with Vatnajökull appearing as the largest white area to the lower right

Vatnajökull (Icelandic pronunciation: , literally "Glacier of Lakes"; sometimes translated as Vatna Glacier<!-- This is not a literal translation, this is just a name occasionally used in English sources --> in English) is the largest and most voluminous ice cap in Iceland, and the second largest in area in Europe after the Severny Island ice cap of Novaya Zemlya. It is in the south-east of the island, covering approximately 8% of the country.

Size

With an area of

Vatnajökull is the second largest ice cap in Europe by volume, being about

The average thickness of the ice is , Iceland's highest peak, Hvannadalshnjúkur (), as part of the Öræfajökull, is in the southern periphery of Vatnajökull, near Skaftafell.

thumb|Ice lagoon at the foot of the Vatnajökull Glacier

thumb|Vatnajökull Glacier in Iceland

thumb|200px|An iceberg with [[Öræfajökull (southernmost part of Vatnajökull) in the background. The icebergs in Jökulsárlón, as well as this one, have broken off Vatnajökull's outlet glaciers.]]

Peaks

Hrútsfjallstindar is a series of Icelandic peaks rising from Vatnajökull between Svínafellsjökull and Skaftafellsjökull, in its southern part. There are four peaks, which range from to high.

Volcanoes

Vatnajökull has a unique geographic location, as it lies between two tectonic plate boundaries and centre of the mantle plume is located under the northwest area of the glacier. The relationship between Vatnajökull and the volcanoes beneath it is classified as glaciovolcanism. Under the ice cap, as under many of the glaciers of Iceland, there are several volcanoes.

In more modern times, the volcanoes continue to erupt beneath the glaciers, resulting in many documented floods. One jökulhlaup in 1934 caused the release of of water over the course of several days. There was also a considerable but short-lived eruption of the volcano under these lakes at the beginning of November 2004. On 21 May 2011 a volcanic eruption started in Grímsvötn in Vatnajökull National Park at around 19:00. In September 1950, a Douglas DC-4 operated by the private airline Loftleiðir crash-landed on the Vatnajökull glacier. The entire six-person crew survived. A rescue operation was launched after the crew managed to send a distress signal on the fourth day. The crew and the rescue team walked the 34&nbsp;km to safety.

The glacier was used as the setting for the opening sequence (set in Siberia) of the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill, in which Bond (played for the last time by Roger Moore) eliminated a host of armed villains before escaping in a submarine to Alaska. Several other films, including another in the Bond franchise, have been filmed on or using Jökulsárlón, the terminal lake of the Breiðamerkurjökull outlet from Vatnajökull.

In 2004, Vatnajökull was one of several Icelandic settings visited on the first leg of The Amazing Race 6.

Westlife's official music video for their twenty-fifth single top 10 and #2 UK hit in 2009 "What About Now" is the last film of Vatnajökull Glacier before the subsequent volcanic eruption.

In November 2011, the glacier was used as a shooting location for the second season of the HBO fantasy TV series Game of Thrones.

In 2013, Vatnajökull was a scenic background in the movie Interstellar, directed and produced by Christopher Nolan.

Outlet glaciers

thumb|right|upright|[[Fláajökull outlet glacier]]

Vatnajökull has around 30 outlet glaciers flowing from the ice cap. The Icelandic term for glacier is "jökull", and so is the term for outlet glacier. Given below is a list of outlet glaciers flowing from Vatnajökull, sorted by the four administrative territories of Vatnajökull National Park. This is not a complete list.

Southern territory

  • Austurtungnajökull <!-- the original reference seems to use southern as an administrative area which includes this---->
  • Axarfellsjökull <!-- the original reference seems to use southern as an administrative area which includes this---->
  • Breiðamerkurjökull
  • Birnudalsjökull
  • Brókarjökull
  • Eyvindstungnajökull
  • Falljökull
  • Fellsárjökull
  • Fjallsjökull
  • Fláajökull
  • Gljúfursárjökull
  • Heinabergsjökull
  • Hoffellsjökull
  • Hólárjökull
  • Hrútárjökull
  • Kotárjökull
  • Kvíárjökull
  • Lambatungnajökull
  • Morsárjökull
  • Norðurtungnajökull <!-- the original reference seems to use southern as an administrative area which includes this---->
  • Rótarfjallsjökull
  • Skaftafellsjökull
  • Skálafellsjökull
  • Skeiðarárjökull
  • Stigárjökull
  • Stórhöfðajökull
  • Suðurfjallsjökull <!-- the original reference seems to use southern as an administrative area which includes this---->
  • Svínafellsjökull
  • Vesturdalsjökull <!-- the original reference seems to use southern as an administrative area which includes this---->
  • Viðborðsjökull
  • Virkisjökull

Eastern territory

  • Brúarjökull
  • Eyjabakkajökull
  • Geldingafellsjökull
  • Kverkjökull
  • Kverkkvíslarjökull
  • Kvíslarjökull

Northern territory

  • Dyngjujökull

Western territory

  • Grænalónsjökull
  • Köldukvíslarjökull
  • Síðujökull
  • Skaftárjökull
  • Sylgjujökull
  • Tungnaárjökul

Recent temperature changes

In 2025, the average air temperature surrounding Vatnajökull reached a low of -1.09 degrees Celsius in January and a high of 0.97 degrees Celsius in December. In 1975, the average air temperature reached a low of -1.50 degrees Celsius in July and a high of 0.45 degrees Celsius in December. The data shows there has been an increase in the average lowest air temperatures and a decrease in the average highest air temperatures. These changes in atmospheric warming have been mitigated by the Cold Blob, a patch of cold water in the North Atlantic Ocean counteracting warming temperatures in Iceland. While temperatures are changing and impacting the ice and snow composition of Vatnajökull, environmental equilibrium will be impacted now and in the future.

See also

  • Geography of Iceland
  • List of volcanic eruptions in Iceland
  • Iceland plume
  • Vatnajökull National Park

References

  • News about Vatnajokull National park
  • Search engine and map of Iceland
  • Viewfinder Panoramas
  • Baldursson, S, J Guðnason, H Hannesdóttir & T Thórðarson. Nomination of Vatnajökull National Park for inclusion in the World Heritage List, Reykjavik 2018, Vatnajökull National Park