The mouth of the Skaftá. Rechtonder is Kirkjubæjarklaustur with the Systravatn lake recognizable. On top of the mouth of the Kúðafljót.
The Skaftá is a river in southern Iceland. In fact, it is a mix of a glacier river and a rain river. The origin of the Skaftá is just west of Skaftárjökull, a glacier that forms part of the much larger Vatnajökull. After the rise, the Skaftá flows into a big arch to the south. On the way several rain rivers join the Skaftá, such as the Grjótá and Hellisá. Also, the water from the Langisjór flows through the outlet Útfall in the Skaftá. The result is that the catchment area comprises a total of about 1400 km², with an average water flow of 120 m³ per second. The Skaftá is about 115 kilometers long.
The Skaftá eventually ends up in a number of rivers. The Eldvatn flows into the big Kúðafljót, the Árkvíslar ends somewhere in the vast Eldhraum lavaveld, and the Skaftá itself flows along Kirkjubæjarklaustur and flows into the sea a little further along the Landsbrotsvattn. The ring road (ring road in Iceland) crosses with long bridges Kúðafljót and the Árkvíslar, and at Kirkjubæjarklaustur de Skaftá.
Originally, the Skaftá had a very different course, but in 1783 the Laki craters burst a huge amount of lava and formed part of the Eldhraun. This eruption is also known as the Skaftávuren. The lava completely filled the original beds of the Skaftá, causing the river to find a new road across and along the lava surface.
Even further from the Skaftárjökull lies a volcano under the icecap of the Vatnajökull. The superficial ice melts, and from time to time the underlying ice, the Grímsvötn, is bursting at a glacier breakthrough. a part of the melting water comes in the Skaftá. The water flow can then rise very rapidly, with flooding of boiling mud. In addition, harmful gases are released, such as sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, but the devastation that causes water is much more important.
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