Snæfell Volcano, Highlands, Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland
North of Vatnajökull Glacier lies one of the largest pristine areas in Europe, which is protected within the Vatnajökull National Park since 7 June 2008. With the recent additions of Lakagígar and Langisjór, the Park covers 13.600 km2 or 13% of Iceland, making it Europe's second largest national park in terms of area size. Vatnajökull National Park is one of three national parks in Iceland. It encompasses all of Vatnajökull glacier and extensive surrounding areas. These include the national parks previously existing at Skaftafell in the southwest and Jökulsárgljúfur in the north. The unique qualities of Vatnajökull National Park are primarily its great variety of landscape features, created by the combined forces of rivers, glacial ice, and volcanic and geothermal activity. Since 1997 the Icelandic Nature Conservation Association (INCA) with support of WWF has campaigned for the conservation of this area. Although two major glacial rivers running north off the glacier are being destroyed by the Karahnukar Project, one river with its watershed will be protected as part of a new national park.
Year: 2014
From album: Vatnajökull National Park and the protection of the Icelandic Highlands
Photographer: Peter Prokosch