The Vatnajoekul area is one of the few areas i Europe still unconquered by man. We saw that in the eruption beneath the glacier a few years ago, when almost nobody was right about what was going to happen when. This is the heart of the Icelandic highlands, just north of Vatnaj kull, Europe's largest glacier. The entire region is a wilderness, 150km long and 100km wide. It is home to the whooper swan, golden plover and ptarmigan, to rare flowers, herbs and moss and is an abundant source of hot springs.
Few tourists visit the area.
There are no houses and barely a farm. Huts in the camp set up by the Icelandic national power company are the only sign of human habitation. The power company, with the backing of the Icelandic government, wants to dam 11 rivers and tributaries in the area, creating a 57km reservoir that will flood the valleys around K rahn kar, driving out the reindeer and geese, submerging the waterfalls and all the unique vegetation covering the accompanying plain. The reservoir will serve a giant hydroelectric power station. With turbines producing 700 megawatts of electricity, this will be the biggest hydro plant ever built in Iceland and one of the largest in Europe.