Víðgelmir
More photographs at the Wikimedia Commons category.
Víðgelmir is an attraction, at a modelled elevation of 301 m. Geitlandsjökull stands 1,390 m to the south-southeast, 12 miles off. The nearest named place is The Cave, a attraction 0.2 miles away. Ring Road passes 14 miles off.
The story
Víðgelmir (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈviðˌcɛlmɪr̥]) is a lava tube situated in the Hallmundarhraun lava field (formed around 900 AD) in west Iceland, around 2 km southeast of Fljótstunga farm in Hvítársíða, Borgarfjörður. The roof of the lava tube has collapsed, creating two large openings near its north end which are the only known entrances. Víðgelmir is 1585 m long and the largest part of the cave passage is 15.8 m high and 16.5 m wide, making it by far the largest of its kind in Iceland. The cave has a wide entrance but narrows down in some places. An iron gate was installed at the first constriction in 1991 to preserve those of the delicate lava formations or speleothems which hadn't already been destroyed. Evidence of human habitation, probably dating to the Viking Age, has been discovered in the cave and is preserved in the National Museum of Iceland. Long stretches of the cave floor are very rough and shouldn't be navigated without a guide. Access and guided tours are provided at nearby Fljótstunga. Lava tubes are formed when a low-viscosity lava flow develops a continuous and hard crust which then thickens and forms a roof above the molten lava stream. When the eruption subsides, the still-molten lava moving beneath the crust will continue to drain downhill, leaving an open lava tube. Many other lava tubes have been discovered in Hallmundarhraun, most notably Surtshellir and Stefánshellir.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q626642, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What to expect
- Access
- Customers only
- Fee
- Yes
How to reach it
- 14.3 mi off the Ring Road
Named places within 25 miles
- Fálkaklettur: 1.2 mi
- Höfði: 1.2 mi
- Sandur: 1.6 mi
- Hátunga: 2.1 mi
- Tunga: 2.8 mi
- Veitufoss: 1.7 mi
- Bröttuhlíðarfoss: 3.1 mi
- Háaleitisfoss: 3.4 mi
- Lambárfoss: 4.2 mi
- Kálfafoss: 6.0 mi
- The Cave: 0.2 mi
- Hraunfossar / Barnafoss: 6.2 mi
- Íshellir: 11.6 mi
- Into the Glacier: 12.5 mi
- Geitfjársetrið: 13.6 mi
- Húsafellsskógur: 4.1 mi
- Hraunfossar: 6.2 mi
- Grábrókargígar: 21.9 mi
- Friðland við Fitjaá í Skorradal: 24.2 mi
- Selgil: 4.3 mi
- Skrifla: 15.6 mi
- Árhver: 17.8 mi
- Krosslaug: 20.7 mi
- Snorrastofa: 15.7 mi
- Fjallid: 18.9 mi
- Krosslaug: 20.8 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 21.9 miles of Víðgelmir. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geitlandsjökull | SSE 151° | 1,390 m | 12.2 mi |
| Ok | SSW 192° | 1,170 m | 10.7 mi |
| Hafrafell | ESE 119° | 1,165 m | 8.1 mi |
| Syðra-Hádegisfell | SSE 163° | 1,069 m | 10.3 mi |
| Stóra-Björnsfell | S 170° | 1,055 m | 17.9 mi |
| Tröllakirkja | NNW 327° | 1,001 m | 20.9 mi |
| Klakkur | SE 144° | 999 m | 15.6 mi |
| Strútur | E 91° | 937 m | 3.6 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:25 | 18:33 | 19:38 |
| June solstice | 02:34 | 22:09 | 00:18 |
| September equinox | 07:06 | 18:23 | 19:28 |
| December solstice | 11:30 | — | 15:14 |
Local time (Atlantic/Reykjavik).
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/291607233
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