User:Grund701/sandbox

Stuðlagil Canyon Stuðlagil Canyon is located in Jökuldalur, East-Iceland in a gorge where one of largest rivers of Iceland flow through. The section of the Jökulsá á Dal river which is named Stuðlagil (Basalt Column Gorge) is considered to have one of Iceland's largest collections of basalt columns. Today, the river itself is hardly comparable to former times, when it was a gushing glacial river transporting tonnes of sediment. This is because the Jökulsá á Dal was closed off by the building of Kárahnjúkar Dam between 2003 and 2007. Most of the water once running through Stuðlagil was thereby diverted into a tunnel to Fljótsdalur Station, where it generates 690 MW of electricity. Nowadays, the Jökulsá á Dal is normally clear and greenish-blue, though melting snow in the spring and spillway overflow in the late summer may affect its appearance. Basalt columns are the crystals into which lava has contracted as it was cooling. While these are frequently vertical structures, this gorge contains both vertical and horizontal columns. Their most common form is hexagonal, though they can for instance also have four, five or seven sides.

Stuðlagil Canyon is accessable from road no. 1 by tunring on to road no. 923 close to the farm Skjöldólfsstadir and drive appr. 20 km. to the farm Grund. At Grund there are parkings places and marked hiking trails and scenic points 260 m from the parking. The view to the Canyon is both close and magnificent. Other alternative to view the Canyon is to drive to the farm Klaustursel and park the car close to the old bridge. From there visitors need to walk 10 km (both ways) from the bridge to the river Eyvindará. The walking trail is at first on an old road and then off road without any marked trail. On the way there are two rivers that visitors need to cross. The view to the river and canyon from this side is also magnificent.

The main entrance to the canyon is at the Grund. Up until 1995, sheep were raised at Grund farm, but today the farm grows trees. Because Grund's altitude of about 350 m is considered quite high for some plants in Iceland, many people were sceptical about the farm’s forestry prospects. However, since the first trees were planted in 1999, they have grown better than anyone expected.