The Brennisteinsalda () is a

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

in the south 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 ...

. Its height is about 855 m. It is situated near

Landmannalaugar Landmannalaugar () is a location in Iceland's Fjallabak Nature Reserve in the Highlands. It is on the edge of the Laugahraun lava field. This lava field was formed by an eruption in approximately 1477. It is largely known for its natural ...

and not far from

Hekla Hekla (), or Hecla, is an active stratovolcano in the south of Iceland with a height of . Hekla is one of Iceland's most active volcanoes; over 20 eruptions have occurred in and around the volcano since the year 1210. During the Middle Ages, th ...

. The name means in English: ''sulphur wave''. It comes from the

sulphur Sulfur (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundance of the chemical ...

spots which have coloured its sides. But there are other colours, too: green from mosses, black and blue from

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

and ashes, red from

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

in the earth. It could very well be the most colourful mountain of Iceland and so its picture is often found in books and calendars. The mountain is still visibly an active volcano with hot sulphur springs and vapour at its sides. The hiking trail ''Laugavegur'' passes by. In front of it there is an

obsidian Obsidian ( ) is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Produced from felsic lava, obsidian is rich in the lighter element ...

lava field. Landmannalaugar Iceland 2005 2.JPG, Landmannalaugar region

External links

Photo, parts of the mountain with the hiking trail Laugarvegur in the foreground Photo of Brennisteinsalda
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229021335/http://www.icelandvirtualtour.com/landmannalaugar-brennisteinsalda-summit.html , date=2014-12-29 Stratovolcanoes of Iceland Mountains of Iceland Active volcanoes East Volcanic Zone of Iceland