Skeiðará Bridge Monument, Iceland

As with many things in Iceland, the industrial merges into the natural. Nature is also a strong force in this area and the glaciers and volcanic eruptions can bring disaster. The Skeiðará Bridge Monument stands as a reminder of the 1996 eruption that caused huge floods.

For many miles, the ominous presence of the Vatnajökull Ice Cap can be seen on the horizon as you drive east from Vík. Snaking down from the top of the mountains the glacial tongues opened out onto the Sandur Plain. Slowly receding, Skeiðarárjökull and Svinafellsjökull glaciers are getting smaller by the second. Not visible in the moment but over time each drip adds up and accelerates their shrinking.

Vatnajökull glacier in Iceland from the south west

Despite receding these glaciers can still bring about destruction and devastation. There is concern that when the next volcano erupts in Iceland it will be under a glacier, which will be catastrophic for the country, the residents and the environment.

Skeiðará Bridge was once the longest span in Iceland and was part of the main Ring Road. The bridge carried drivers across the Skeiðarár Sandur, a wide plain of black volcanic sand marbled with creeks of run-off from the Skeiðarárjökull glacier. 

In November 1996 a huge volcanic eruption north of Grímsvötn under the Vatnajökull glacier caused a massive glacial flood. The floodwater rose rapidly. Huge blocks of ice were swept along in the flood water and some weighed up to 2000 tonnes. This natural phenomenon is known as a Jökulhlaup (quite a cool word if you ask me).

remains of a bridge in Iceland destroyed by a flood

The water flow (50000 cubic metres per second) was so great that the Gígjukvísl Bridge that crossed Skeiðarársandur sandflats was washed away and the Skeiðará Bridge was badly damaged. They were designed to withstand glacial flow and flood water but not the sheer volume and force that was generated as the volcano erupted below the surface of the glacier.

After driving across the Skeiðarársandur sandflats a twisted, graffiti-covered mangle of metal appears on the horizon. This is all that remains of the Skeiðará Bridge which would have taken vehicles across the black sand plain marbled with small rivers of glacial run-off.

To see the results of nature makes you think about how insignificant we really are in the grand scheme of things. Despite our best efforts, nature will always win.

remains of a bridge destroyed by a flood in Iceland

Finding Skeiðará Bridge Monument

The bridge is on Ring Road 1 a short distance from Skeiðarársandur near Hof in the South East of Iceland. There is a large parking area on the right heading east with information boards.

I'm Suzanne the traveller and photographer behind Meandering Wild. With over 30 years of experience travelling to different corners of the world in search of wildlife and remote locations nearly all of the advice on this website is from my own exploring.