Dverghamrar Cliffs
Dverghamrar Cliffs
Look out for the sign and car park for Dverghamrar, majestic basalt columns hidden from view on road 1. Park and walk down a short trail.
Dverghamrar cliffs are tall, dark columns that look like they were hand-sculpted by a craftsman.
According to legend, they are built by dwarves though geologists will tell a different version. As volcanic lava cools it solidifies, contracts and cracks.
When the contraction takes place evenly across the surface of the lava, a hexagonal fracture pattern can occur. If the contraction is not evenly spaced, for example, if the thickness or density of the lava varies, then other fracture patterns may be seen.
As cooling continues the fractures extend deep into the lava, forming long geometric columns.
All the cliffs along this stretch of road are former sea cliffs formed during the Ice Age when sea levels were higher because of the weight of the ice on the land.
When the ice caps melted at the end of the last cold stage of the Ice Age, the land rose up – geologists call this isostatic rebound – and the cliffs were left high and dry.
Debris from volcanic eruptions under the icecaps has also helped to extend the land further into the sea.