Ok (; ) is a

shield volcano A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a 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 more viscous lava ...

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 ...

, to the west of

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

. It erupted during

interglacial An interglacial period (or alternatively interglacial, interglaciation) is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age. The current Holocene i ...

s in the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

, and is in proximity to the

Prestahnúkur The peak Prestahnúkur () with a height of , is in the Western Volcanic Zone to the west of the Highlands of Iceland to the west of Langjökull glacier, or to be more specific, to the west of Geitlandsjökull glacier, a part of the Langjökull ...

and

Oddnýjarhnjúkur-Langjökull volcanic system The Oddnýjarhnjúkur-Langjökull (Langjökull) volcanic system of Iceland last erupted about 3600 years ago and is associated with current geothermal activity. The area of its central volcano is at present under the second largest ice cap in Ic ...

s. The volcano was once topped by the

Okjökull Okjökull (, Ok glacier) was a glacier in western Iceland on top of the shield volcano Ok. Ok is located north-east of Reykjavík. The glacier was declared dead in 2014 by glaciologist Oddur Sigurðsson due to its loss of thickness. Ice crysta ...

glacier, which may now only be represented by isolated patches of ice, even if still shown on current maps. At its top is the crater lake of Blávatn, which can freeze over. While the volcano itself historically had little attention, its absent glacier has been used to symbolise recent climate change. The lost glacier was the subject of a documentary, '' Not Ok'', in 2018, produced by Cymene Howe and Dominic Boyer. In August 2019, the glacier was memorialised with a plaque on site, the English text of which, written by

Andri Snær Magnason Andri Snær Magnason (born 14 July 1973) is an Icelandic writer. He has written novels, poetry, plays, short stories, and essays. Andri is also a director and producer of three documentary films that have premiered in IDFA and CPH:DOX. His ...

, reads:

A letter to the future
Ok is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its status as a glacier. In the next 200 years all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path. This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it.
August 2019
415PPM CO₂Amy McCaig,
Lost glacier to be honored with memorial monument
' (18 July 2019).

References

External links

*{{cite gvp, title=Ok, vn=371806, accessdate=2017-04-11 Shield volcanoes of Iceland Pleistocene shield volcanoes West Volcanic Zone of Iceland