Skeiðará (Icelandic pronunciation:[ˈsceiːðarˌauː]ⓘ) is a relatively short glacier river (about 30 km long).[1][2] It has its source on the glacier Skeiðarárjökull, one of the southern arms of the Vatnajökull in the south of Iceland.
In spite of its short length, this river has a bad reputation. It is especially feared because of the frequent glacier runs that can be fatal.
In front of Skaftafell and Skeiðarárjökull, Skeiðará has formed the Skeiðarársandur, a black plain of lava sand and ashes crossed by a lot of small rivulets which covers the whole area between the park and the sea (about 40 km long and 5 to 10 km wide). In 1996, the latest of these glacier runs took place.[3] It destroyed parts of Route 1 (the Ring Road). The 880-metre-long (2,890 ft) bridge was damaged by floating ice boulders the size of houses. At the peak of this glacier run, 45,000 m3/s of water were coming down. No one was harmed, scientists having very carefully monitored the volcano Grímsvötn on Vatnajökull which caused the glacier run by its eruption.
