Ring Road Iceland - Hof

On the way to Hof, Iceland the Ring Road crosses over the famous Jökulsárlón glacial lake. It is the deepest lake in Iceland at 284m (932ft) and as a result of glacial melting it has grown fourfold since the 1970s. As icebergs calve from the glacier's edge they start floating towards the sea. Waves polish the icebergs and float them onto the black sands of Breiðamerkusandur, a glacial outwash plain. It is nicknamed Diamond Beach, because the polished ice on the black sands looks like diamonds glistening in the sun. Due to floating icebergs in the lagoon the bridge is reinforced with a row of stone boulders that prevents the icebergs from hitting the pillars and stops the foundations from eroding.

When I arrived in "Hof, Iceland" I was very curious about why the name Iceland is tagged on the end of Hof. It's the only village in Iceland that seems to carry the name like this. I couldn't find an answer but what I did discover is how new this village is. Hof, Iceland was nothing more than a collection of farms until 2017 when increased tourism created a shortage of housing in the region. The local government wasted no time and commenced building new streets and housing around the already existing primary school.

The village's church has been there since 1884 and it was the last turf church ever built in Iceland and the only one that continues to be a practising parish. Looking at the church from the rear it looks as if it's sinking but it's actually partially buried in the ground in order to use the earth as natural insulation.

The village is in the foothills of Ӧræfajökull glacier which covers the largest active volcano that last erupted in 1727. At 2,110m (6,955ft) the volcano is the highest peak in Iceland. The volcano has phreatic eruptions which happens when magma heats ground water. The magma's extreme temperature causes "near-instantaneous evaporation of water resulting in an explosion of steam, water, ash, rock and volcanic bombs" which then deposit in the surrounding areas. The volcano's 1362 eruption destroyed everything in the region and deposited 10km³ (2.4mi³) of volcanic material. It took 40 years to resettle the area. Unsurprisingly the region's name was changed to Ӧræfi, meaning "wasteland".

North of Hof, Iceland is Svartifoss a slender 20m (66ft) high waterfall. The beauty of this waterfall is the geometric rock face being a 3D wall of hexagonal basalt column. These columnar joint formations are often an inspiration for Icelandic architecture such as the main church in Reykjavik.

Fjaðrárgljúfur is an ancient, massive river canyon with steep walls up to 100m (330ft) high and water winding its way through the canyon for at least 2km (1.2mi). Its origins date back two million years when the pressure of flowing water from glaciers cut through the bedrock creating these deep channels with steep valley walls. Sadly, the canyon's environment was threatened due to the influx of visitors and the authorities closed access to the canyon.



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