Torfajökull

Torfajökull
Torfajökull Iceland
Elevation	1,259 m (4,131 ft)
Location
Coordinates	63°55′00″N 19°10′00″W
Geology
Type	Stratovolcano
Age of rock	Pleistocene
Last eruption	1477

Torfajökull (Icelandic for "Torfi's glacier") is a rhyolitic stratovolcano and complex of subglacial volcanoes, located north of Mýrdalsjökull and south of Þórisvatn Lake, Iceland. Torfajökull last erupted in 1477 and consists of the largest area of silicic extrusive rocks in Iceland.

Naming

According to legend, the glacier is named for Torfi Jónsson í Klofa, an Icelandic historical figure. When the plague arrived in Iceland in 1493, Torfi fled with his family and his belongings into the highlands and settled in a valley surrounded by the glacier.

According to another legend, the glacier is named for Torfi, a farm worker at a nearby farm. Torfi eloped with the farmers daughter and fled to the glacier.

See also

• List of volcanoes in Iceland
• Volcanism in Iceland

References

• "Torfajökull". Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution. http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1702-05=.