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Austari-Jökulsá

Coordinates: 65°22′21″N 19°06′21″W / 65.3726°N 19.1058°W / 65.3726; -19.1058
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Austari-Jökulsá

Austari-Jökulsá (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈœysta(ː)rɪ-ˈjœːkʏlsˌauː], "easterly glacier river") is a glacial river in the north of Iceland. After the confluence with Vestari-Jökulsá it forms the Héraðsvötn.

Name

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The name means Eastern Glacial River,[1] in comparison to the Western Glacial River (Vestari-Jökulsá) which is situated more to the west.

Course of the river

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Some glacial outlet streams of the big ice cap Hofsjökull confluence up in the highland to form the glacial river Austari-Jökulsá. The river discharge is rather important with 60-100 m3/sec in the summer and 20-30 m3/sec in wintertime. A flood went up to 320 m3/sec.[2]

Because of this, the river which has no waterfalls had a bad reputation and was/is very difficult to ford.[2]

In 1970, a bridge was built near Laugafell.[2]

Sports

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Rafting on Austari-Jökulsá

Today, the river with its fierce currents is popular for rafting tours.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b https://grapevine.is/mads/2017/07/18/river-rafting-up-north-battling-the-beast-of-the-east/ Johanna Eriksson: River rafting up north, battling the beast of the east. In: Reykjavík Grapevine July 18, 2017. Retrieved: 25 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Íslandshandbókin. Náttura, saga og sérkenni. Reykjavík 1989, p. 369

65°22′21″N 19°06′21″W / 65.3726°N 19.1058°W / 65.3726; -19.1058