Thjorsa River

The longest and second most voluminous river in Iceland, coming from the glacier Hofsjökull, may be found in the south of Iceland. The beautiful Thjórsá ('The River of Bulls') runs an astonishing 230 kilometers and serves as a dividing line between two of the country's chartered counties, Rangárvallassla, and rnesssla. This river is ranked 1st on the list of the longest rivers in Iceland.

This river's movement toward the ocean is aided by another river, Tungnaá, which joins it downstream in the lowlands as it passes through the narrow crags of the highlands. The river flows through the breathtakingly picturesque jórsárdalur valley, past the old farmstead Stöng, before flowing along the eastern edge of the jórsá lava field.

The islets of jórsá are renowned for their size, the largest of which are Hagaey and rnes. Historically, a governing body presided over by the region's law speakers, stood on the latter. The round remnants of this assembly can still be seen by visitors to the island, albeit they have been designated inviolable and preserved.

The presence of the ing has given the island's features titles such as Parliament Hill and Gallows Rock (this was the location for numerous executions.) The county rnesssla is, of course, named for this island.

Length: 230 km (140 mi)