<- ->
Skeid County lies between the rivers Hvita and Thjorsa north of road # 1 in the Southwestern Lowlands. The landscape is mostly flat and boggy and the foundations are mainly an 800 km² and 8000 years old lava field. In 1924, River Thjorsa irrigation system was excavated at great costs, but also to a great advantage to the farming community.
Large areas of the Skeid County have been cultivated and it is relatively densely populated. The sheep pen, Skeidarettir, is among the largest and most picturesque of such constructions in the country. It is made of lava stones and blocks of which there is plenty in the area. The walls are about 1½ m high with a layer of sod on top. A very large, round shaped night pen stands beside the sorting pen. The greatest number of sheep processed there in the past was about 15.000.
Sometimes River Hvita is blocked with ice during spells of thaw in winter, and swells above the ice dam and causes floods, which sometimes isolate individual farms near the river. Thermal activity is common in the area and there is a nice swimming pool at Brautarholt.
Photo Credit: Skeidgnup.is
Get an education when travel:
NAT and Must see in Iceland have handpicked the best tours in Iceland so you don't have to.