Jökulsárlón

Jökulsárlón
Coordinates	64°04′13″N 16°12′42″W
Type	glacial
Basin countries	Iceland
Surface area	18 km²
Max. depth	c. 200 m

Glacier's mouth is to the left.

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 skuas 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.

A block of ice at the beach near Jökulsárlón

Landowners Association

The Jökulsarlon Landowners Association (website) is the organization representing owners of the land property Fell, that includes Jökuklsárlón, also known as the Glacier Lagoon. This is for filming licenses or any other commercial activity at the site.

The landowners association leases out a site at the lagoonfront to Einar Björn Einarsson, who is the operator of the famous boat trips on the Glacier Lagoon.

Panorama of Jökulsárlón.

In the media

A number of films have had scenes shot at Jökulsárlón, including Beowulf and Grendel, Tomb Raider, Die Another Day, Batman Begins and A View to a Kill. 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.

See also

• Lakes of Iceland

External links

• Photos from islandsmyndir.is
• Photos from Icelandphotoblog.com
• Information
• Jökulsárlón images and movies
• Description of skuas
• Jökulsárlón panoramic virtual tour