Eiríksjökull ( Icelandic for "Eirík's glacier", ) is a

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

north-west of

Langjökull Langjökull (, Icelandic for "long glacier") is the second largest ice cap in Iceland (953 km2), after Vatnajökull. It is situated in the west of the Icelandic interior or Highlands of Iceland and can be seen clearly from Haukadalur. Its ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

, with an area of reaching a height of , making it the largest table mountain in Iceland. Rising over above its surrounding, the lowest of a

hyaloclastite Hyaloclastite is a volcanoclastic accumulation or breccia consisting of glass (from the Greek ''hyalus'') fragments (clasts) formed by quench fragmentation of lava flow surfaces during submarine or subglacial extrusion. It occurs as thin margin ...

(móberg)

tuya A tuya is a flat-topped, steep-sided volcano formed when lava erupts through a thick glacier or ice sheet. They are rare worldwide, being confined to regions which were covered by glaciers and had active volcanism during the same period. As lava ...

formed presumably by a single subglacial

volcanic activity Volcanism, vulcanism or volcanicity is the phenomenon of eruption of molten rock (magma) onto the surface of the Earth or a solid-surface planet or moon, where lava, pyroclastics, and volcanic gases erupt through a break in the surface called a ...

is capped by a thick

lava shield A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a warrior's shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the mo ...

. It is currently dormant or extinct in terms of volcanic activity.

Etymology

The glacier was called Baldjökull until about 1700 and with relative certainty the current name is influenced by the nearby mountain Eiríksgnípa. Nothing is known with certainty about said Erik but a fable tells of an outlaw named Eiríkur or Eirekur who evaded capture by running into that mountain.

References

Glaciers of Iceland Borgarbyggð {{Iceland-glacier-stub