OBSERVATION / 012

Rivers written in lava.

Landsat view of southwest Iceland, showing volcanic terrain, lakes, rivers, and pale sediment entering the Atlantic Ocean.

NASA Earth Observatory / Joshua Stevens · Landsat / USGS

Location: Southwest Iceland / Iceland
Image acquired: June 6, 2019
Platform / instrument: Landsat 8 / OLI
Image type: Satellite image

Field notes

Rivers cut across southwest Iceland before spreading sediment into the Atlantic. This June 2019 Landsat view places the Þjórsá and Ölfusá rivers within a landscape shaped by fire, ice, and moving water.

The two rivers once joined near the coast. A large lava flow about 8,700 years ago separated them, leaving each to follow a different side of the hardened lava. Pale water reflects suspended glacial sediment, while dark coastal patches include wet volcanic sand.

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This is dated source imagery. The homepage overlay is a graphic treatment, not a georeferenced measurement.