Jökulsárlón

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Jökulsárlón
Coordinates	64°03′08″N, 16°21′37″WCoordinates: 64°03′08″N, 16°21′37″W
Basin countries	Iceland
Surface area	18 km²
Max. depth	c. 200 m

Jökulsárlón is the best known and the largest of a number of glacial lakes in Iceland. It is situated at the south end of the glacier Vatnajökull between Skaftafell National Park and Höfn. Appearing first only in 1934-1935, the lake grew from 7.9 km² in 1975 to at least 18 km² today because of heavy melting of the Icelandic glaciers. Approaching a depth of 200 m, Jökulsárlón is now probably the second deepest lake in Iceland.

Jökulsárlón is separated from the sea by only a short distance, and the combined action of the glacier, the river that empties from the lake, and the ocean may eventually transform it into an inlet of the sea. There are plans to prevent this from happening, since the only road in the area passes over the narrow isthmus.

It is not far from the Icelandic Ring Road, and buses travelling between Höfn and Reykjavík usually stop there. The lake is filled with icebergs, which are calving off the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier.

At its shore, in the summertime, one has to watch out for the skúas, big seagulls which have their nests on the ground around the lake and which can occasionally become aggressive.

Near Jökulsárlón, there are two other glacial lakes, Fjallsárlón and Breiðárlón.

The homepage of the Jöklusarlón Landowners is jokulsarlon.com

Contents 1 In the media 2 See also 3 References 4 External links

[edit] In the media

A number of films have had scenes shot at Jökulsárlón, including Beowulf and Grendel, Tomb Raider, Die Another Day (James Bond), Batman Begins and A View to a Kill (James Bond). The lagoon was a waypoint during the first stage of The Amazing Race 6. Good Morning America was broadcast live from Jökulsárlón on November 13, 2006.^[1]

[edit] See also

• Lakes of Iceland

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Photos
• Photo-essay of trip to Jökulsárlón
• Photos of Jökulsárlón from www.islandsmyndir.is
• Information
• Description of skuas

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