Vatnajökull National Park – Dynamic Nature of Fire and Ice, World Heritage Site in Iceland

Vatnajökull National Park is a volcanic area covering more than 1.4 million hectares, almost 14% of Iceland’s territory.There are 10 volcanoes in the park, 8 of which are under glaciers.And the park is also famous for the Vatnajökull Glacier, the largest glacier in Europe in terms of volume.

Here, a World Heritage enthusiast explains in simple terms why Vatnajoktr National Park – an ever-changing nature of fire and ice – is a World Heritage Site.Read this and you will definitely learn more about Vatnajökull National Park!

What is Vatnajökull National Park – Dynamic Nature of Fire and Ice, World Heritage Site in Iceland?

A national park in southeastern Iceland, this registered national park covers a vast area of 1.4 million hectares and includes the Vatnajökull Glacier, the largest glacier in Europe by volume (some data may list it as the second largest glacier in Europe).Iceland was originally a volcanic island, and is famous as the only place on earth where the Atlantic Central Ridge is exposed.There are ten volcanoes in the park, eight of which are under glaciers.The oldest volcano erupted about 10 million years ago, and the area is so active that it recently erupted in 2015.This is also where the world’s rarest pyroclastic rock, brown hyaloclastite, which formed during the Ice Age, is found.

The interaction of magma and lithosphere with the cryosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere here is a geological process not seen anywhere else in the world, and is indicative of “fire and ice in constant flux.Incidentally, the Vatnajoktor Glacier continued to expand until the end of the 18th century, but its extent is now shrinking each year due to global warming.

For what reason is the Vatnajökull National Park – Dynamic Nature of Fire and Ice, World Heritage Site in Iceland a World Heritage Site?

Vatnajökull National Park was recognized for

Registration Criteria (viii)
The fact that the continuous activity of glaciers and volcanoes, whose range has been changing over 2.8 million years, has created a topography that is unique in the world.

World Heritage Mania Conclusions and Comments

Iceland itself is a volcanic island, so volcanoes can be seen everywhere, but here there is a volcano under a glacier, and a strange landscape exists where the glacier is changed by the eruption.

Incidentally, Grimsvotn, which is located in the park, once experienced a ice-bottom eruption, which sent volcanic ash to Europe, forcing the suspension of air flights.The eruptions that occur in Iceland are sometimes a wonder to us in modern society.

*The content here is a discussion derived from research conducted by a World Heritage enthusiast.As for the data, interpretation differs depending on the media.