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BARDARBUNGA JUST BELOW 2000 METRES ELEVATION

Region: Highland
Coordinates: 65.03° N 16.55° W

Mt Bardarbunga is the second highest elevation of the country, just below 2000 m. It is situated under the northwestern ice shield of the glacier Vatnajokull and a few, small glacier snouts cascade down its precipitous western side toward the pass Vonarskard. Its main glacier tongue is Koldukvislarjokull.

On the 14th of September 1950, the Loftleidir DC- 4 aircraft Geysir crashed in its eastern slopes and everyone survived. It took the rescue team sent from Akureyri a long time to reach the wreck from Mt Kistufell. Then a DC-3 plain from the US Navy landed near the crash site for rescue purposes.

It, however, could not take off again and remained on the ice until next spring, when the Loftleidir people (now Icelandair) returned to excavate it from the snow and bring it down from the glacier. This rescue operation was as successful as the other one and they flew the plain back to Reykjavik. This salvage operation was a turning point for the Loftleidir operation in the future. Many expeditions were sent to the wreck to salvage the cargo.

Bardarbunga in Icelandic

Self drive Gaesavatna route