Baula () is a mountain situated in the west of

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

near

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Bifröst University Bifröst University () is a private university located in the valley of Norðurárdalur, approximately 30 kilometers north of Borgarnes, Iceland. Originally a business school, it also offers degrees in law and social sciences, at both bachelor ...

, and the

crater A crater is a landform consisting of a hole or depression (geology), depression on a planetary surface, usually caused either by an object hitting the surface, or by geological activity on the planet. A crater has classically been described ...

s of Grábrók. The mountain's reddish or orange hue is caused by its

rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture (geology), texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained matri ...

rock composition. Geologically, the mountain is a

laccolith A laccolith is a body of intrusive rock with a dome-shaped upper surface and a level base, fed by a conduit from below. A laccolith forms when magma (molten rock) rising through the Earth's crust begins to spread out horizontally, prying apart ...

, a type of igneous

intrusion In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...

. It was formed 3.4 million years ago.Johannesson, Haukur (1975) ''Structure and petrochemistry of the Reykjadalur central volcano and the surrounding areas, Midwest Iceland'', Doctoral thesis, Durham University. Baula is characterized by its almost perfect cone. Nearby is Baula's “little sister,” a mountain called Litla-Baula, where rare

columns A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

of rhyolite are found. Together, Baula and Litla-Baula have often been described as Iceland's most beautiful pair of mountains.

References

* Hróarsson, Björn (1994) ''Á ferð um landið, Borgarfjörður og Mýrar, Mál og menning'' (in Icelandic) {{Authority control Volcanism of Iceland Mountains of Iceland Pliocene magmatism Laccoliths Borgarbyggð

See also

References