Snaefell and Eyjabakkar Area

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Snaefell and Eyjabakkar Area

  • Country: 
    Iceland
  • Site number: 
    2131
  • Area: 
    26,450 ha
  • Designation date: 
    18-02-2013
  • Coordinates: 
    64°43'N 15°31'W
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Overview

Snæfell and Eyjabakkar Area (Snæfells- og Eyjabakkasvæðið). 18/02/2013; Norður-Múlasýsla County; 26,450 ha; 64°43'00"N 15°32'00"W. National Park; Habitat/Species Management Area; Nature Reserve. Situated in the northeastern boundaries of the Vatnajökull icecap, in the outwash plain formed by the river Jökulsá í Fljótsda where it flows through the depression to the north of Eyjabakkajökull glacier. Small ponds and lakes, sedge and sandy fens, palsa mires, moist sedge and moss heath are the main habitat types. The site is a key area for moulting of Pink-Footed Goose Anser brachrhynchus during summer. The most common breeding birds of the Eyjabakkar wetlands and surrounding heathlands are Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus, Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria, dunlin Calidris alpina and Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis. There are no major humanmade structures within the reserve area with the exception of the new Fljótsdalsvirkjun power plant. The main land uses within the site are grazing and some tourism. Some of the factors affecting the site's ecological character are soil erosion and global warming, which is reducing glaciers, permafrost and palsa formations. Ramsar Site no. 2131. Most Recent RIS information: 2013.

Administrative region: 
Fljótsdalshreppur

  • National legal designation: 
    • National Park - Vatnajökull
  • Last publication date: 
    18-02-2013

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