Vatnajökull Location: 64.00° N, 16.65° W Elevation: 2109 m Vatnajökull is the largest glacier in Iceland. It is located in the south-east of the island, covering more than 8% of the country. With an area of 8,100 km², it is the largest ice cap in Europe by volume (3,100 km³). On 7 June 2008, it became a part of the Vatnajökull National Park. The average thickness of the ice is thus 400 m, with a maximum thickness of 1,000 m. Icelands highest peak, Hvannadalshnukur (2,109.6 m), is located in the southern periphery of Vatnajökull. Under the ice cap, as under many of the glaciers of Iceland, there are several volcanoes. The volcanic lakes Grimsvötn for example, were the sources of a large jokulhlaup (glacial lake outburst flood) in 1996. There was also a considerable but short-time eruption of the volcano under these lakes at the beginning of November 2004. During the last ice age, numerous volcanic eruptions occurred under Vatnajökull, creating many subglacial eruptions. HOME