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Valley
Bardardalur stretches far into the interior between Moorland Fljotsheidi in the
east, Valley Fnjoskadalur in the west and Valley Adaldalur in the
north. The southern boundaries are at the beginning of the
interior Sprengistandur Area and the western edge of the Odadahraun Lava Field. It is
among the longest inhabited valleys of the country (35 km between the
southernmost and northernmost farms). It is rather narrow between the
steep and well vegetated slopes on both sides. The valley floor is a
flat branch of the Odadahraun Lava Field, vegetated with i.e. willow,
heather, dwarf birch and meadows. Remnant woodlands still decorate the
western slopes, and many areas are well suited for cultivation.
The
valley most probably was created by subsidence. The structure of the
mountains on its western side (600-700 m) is basalt, but hyaloclastites
on the easter side (200-300 m). The 175 km long River Skjalfandafljot,
with its southernmost catchment area in Pass Vonarskard, runs through
the valley. At the southernmost end of the valley, the beautiful
Aldeyjarfoss Waterfall cascades into a gorge framed with basaltic
columns, and at the northern end Waterfall Godafoss decorates the
landscape. The first Norwegian settler of the valley was Bardur
Heyangurs-Bjarnason, who built his farm at Lundarbrekka, but later on
moved across the interior to the farm Nupar in the Fljotshverfi
district. |