Skjaldbreiður
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| Skjaldbreiður | |
|---|---|
 Skjaldbreiður as seen from Þingvellir |
|
| Elevation | 1,060 m |
| Location |  Iceland |
| Coordinates | |
| Type | shield volcano |
| Age of rock | 9,000 years |
| Translation | broad shield (Icelandic) |
Skjaldbreiður, meaning the broad shield in Icelandic, is an Icelandic mountain from whose name the term "shield volcano" derives. It was formed in a huge and protracted eruption roughly 9,000 years ago. The extensive lava fields which were produced by this eruption, flowed southwards, and formed the basin of Þingvallavatn, Iceland's largest lake, and Þingvellir, the "Parliament Plains" where the Icelandic national assembly, the Alþing was founded in the year 930.
The volcano culminates at 1,060 metres, and its crater measures roughly 300 metres in diameter.
Straddling the Mid-Atlantic ridge, the lava fields from Skjaldbreiður have been torn and twisted over the millennia, forming a multitude of fissures and rifts inside the Þingvellir National Park, the best known of which are Almannagjá, Hrafnagjá and Flosagjá.
