A special lava formation, a cliff with a hole through it, opposite Skaftárdalur valley in Skaftártunga, south Iceland, has disappeared. It is believed to have perished in the flood in Skaftá river last month.
A picture was taken of the phenomenon on October 4, about a week before the Skaftá flood began, Morgunbladid reports.
The river, which is known as Eldvatn in this area, floods regularly and this year it was unusually voluminous before the flood began. The stream was especially powerful in Eldvatn.
Oddsteinn Kristjánsson, a farmer in Hvammur who was born and raised in Skaftárdalur, said he knew the phenomenon well although he doesn’t have a name for it.
The cliff was located on the river bank, Kristjánsson described, and the hole was so high and wide that people could walk through it. When the river flooded, water flowed through the hole.
The latest Skaftá flood, known as Skaftárhlaup in Icelandic, began on October 11 and lasted for a few days.
Click here to read about the fate of a natural stone bridge, which was similar to the lava formation in Skaftártunga.
