Route F26 or Sprengisandsleið (, ) is a highland
gravel road
A gravel road is a type of unpaved road surfaced with gravel that has been brought to the site from a quarry or stream bed. Gravel roads are common in less-developed nations, and also in the rural areas of developed nations such as Canada and ...
in
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 ...
, running through the
Sprengisandur
Sprengisandur () is a highland plateau in Iceland, defined roughly as the area between the Hofsjökull and Vatnajökull glaciers.
History and etymology
Like Kjölur and Kaldidalur, Sprengisandur is an ancient pass - during the time of the I ...
area between the glaciers
Hofsjökull
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Hofsjökull (Icelandic language, Icelandic: "temple glacier", ) is the third largest ice cap in Iceland after Vatnajökull and Langjökull and covers the largest active central volcano in the country, which has the same name. It is si ...
and
Vatnajökull
Vatnajökull ( Icelandic pronunciation: , literally "Glacier of Lakes"; sometimes translated as Vatna Glacier in English) is the largest and most voluminous ice cap in Iceland, and the second largest in area in Europe after the Severny Island i ...
.
With its 200 km, it is the longest of the Icelandic highland roads. Its southern end is at the lake
Þórisvatn
Þórisvatn (; sometimes anglicized to Thorisvatn) is the largest lake of Iceland, situated at the south end of the Sprengisandur plateau within the highlands of Iceland.
It is a reservoir with a surface area of about and is fed by the river ...
, to the northeast of the volcano
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 ...
, and its northern end is the south part of
Bárðardalur valley, to the southwest of lake
Mývatn
Mývatn () is a shallow lake situated in an area of active volcanism in the north of Iceland, near Krafla volcano. It has a high amount of biological activity. The lake and the surrounding wetlands provides a habitat for a number of waterbirds, ...
.
External links
Current condition of Icelandic roads
{{Interior routes of Iceland
Roads in Iceland
Gravel roads