Kirkjugólfiđ - The church floor in Kirkjubaejarklaustur
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 0.21 mi
- Elevation gain
- 0 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Moderate
- Elevation loss
- 0 ft
- Max elevation
- 54 ft
- TrailRank
- 27
- Min elevation
- 43 ft
- Trail type
- One Way
- Moving time
- 5 minutes
- Time
- 11 minutes
- Coordinates
- 61
- Uploaded
- August 30, 2021
- Recorded
- August 2021
near Kirkjubæjarklaustur, Suðurland (Ísland)
Viewed 545 times, downloaded 2 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
Actually not known to have ever been a church built on top of this natural formation. So not man made.
NATURAL MONUMENT
Kirkjugólf at Kirkjubæjarklaustur was protected as a natural monument in 1987. The protection covers the outcrop and the surrounding 10 meters, a total of approximately one hectare in size.
NATURAL FEATURES
Kirkjugólf (The Church Floor) is an eroded and shaped columnar basalt outcrop, where the top of these vertical basalt columns can be seen. The basaltic columns have traditionally inspired Icelanders and many have used their form in works of art. The columns always stand perpendicular to the cooling surface and are therefore vertical in lava flow and sills, horizontal in tunnels, but radiate out from the centre of pillow lava. When lava cools and contracts, its surface area decreases and the heat difference can be large between the upper and lower layers. The cooling process takes a long time and as the surface area decreases, forces build up in the lava and in the end it cracks into columns, which are usually five or six sided.
CULTURAL FEATURES
The name Kirkjugólf infers that there was, at some point, a church in this area, and many associate this with the tales of Irish Hermits and their residence there before the settlement of Iceland. There are, however, no records of a church or any other structures having been there. The texture and appearance of the outcrop has been made very smooth and regular by nature and there has been no human intervention. Kirkjugólf is archetypal of the base beneath the guardian spirits on the Republic of Iceland's coat of arms.
NATURAL MONUMENT
Kirkjugólf at Kirkjubæjarklaustur was protected as a natural monument in 1987. The protection covers the outcrop and the surrounding 10 meters, a total of approximately one hectare in size.
NATURAL FEATURES
Kirkjugólf (The Church Floor) is an eroded and shaped columnar basalt outcrop, where the top of these vertical basalt columns can be seen. The basaltic columns have traditionally inspired Icelanders and many have used their form in works of art. The columns always stand perpendicular to the cooling surface and are therefore vertical in lava flow and sills, horizontal in tunnels, but radiate out from the centre of pillow lava. When lava cools and contracts, its surface area decreases and the heat difference can be large between the upper and lower layers. The cooling process takes a long time and as the surface area decreases, forces build up in the lava and in the end it cracks into columns, which are usually five or six sided.
CULTURAL FEATURES
The name Kirkjugólf infers that there was, at some point, a church in this area, and many associate this with the tales of Irish Hermits and their residence there before the settlement of Iceland. There are, however, no records of a church or any other structures having been there. The texture and appearance of the outcrop has been made very smooth and regular by nature and there has been no human intervention. Kirkjugólf is archetypal of the base beneath the guardian spirits on the Republic of Iceland's coat of arms.
Waypoints
Photo
72 ft
Religious site
Fauna
Archaeological site
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