Forest

The Hotel Hallormsstadur, had room had a lovely view with a strip of Lagarfljót Lake visible. That night, July 16, we dined at the Nielsen. It was a gourmet meal. I highly recommend it if you are ever in Egilsstaðir. There was a lovely sunset that evening.

Lagarfljót is a long lake in the east of Iceland in the Fljótsdalur valley near Egilsstaðir. Its surface measures 53 sq km (20 sq mi) and it is 25 km (16 mi) long; its greatest width is 2.5 km (1.6 mi) and its greatest depth 112 m (367 ft). The River Lagarfljót flows through the lake. The biggest forest in Iceland, Hallormsstaðaskógur is found near the lake as well as a waterfall, Hengifoss. Hengifoss, at 128 m (420 ft), is one of the tallest waterfalls in the country. Below it is another waterfall called Litlanesfoss. Like Loch Ness in Scotland, a serpent, called Lagarfljótsormurinn, is believed by some to live in the depths of Lagarfljót.

Hotel Hallormsstadur, Austurland, Northeast Iceland 7/16/2021

Hallormsstaðaskógur – Wikipedia is by the lake Lagarfljót. Seeing trees on July 16 was a novelty. The country lost most of its trees more than a thousand years ago, when Viking settlers cut down the forests within 50 years for shipbuilding or to clear the land for farming and pasture. The forests originally covered one-quarter of the Iceland. Icelanders are working to get some of those forests back, to improve and stabilize soils, help agriculture, and fight climate change. Iceland is considered the least forested country in Europe. Forests in Iceland are so rare, or their trees so young, that people joke that those lost in the woods only need to stand up.