Access and Information
Skútustaðagígar are located at Skútustaðir on the southern shore of Mývatn in Northeast Iceland. The site can be accessed via Mývatnsvegur (Route 848). A parking area is located beside the Gígur Visitor Centre, which offers visitor information, exhibitions, and restroom facilities.
Rangers in the Mývatn area are responsible for monitoring and managing the site.
Pseudocraters
Pseudocraters are geological formations that are rare both in Iceland and worldwide. They form when highly fluid lava flows across wetlands or waterlogged ground. Water trapped beneath the lava begins to boil and expand until pressure eventually causes the overlying lava to explode in powerful steam explosions.
As a result, the surface of pseudocraters is composed of thick volcanic scoria. Despite their name, there is nothing “artificial” about pseudocraters; the term refers simply to the fact that they were not formed in the same way as ordinary volcanic craters.
The Icelandic geologist Sigurður Þórarinsson was the first to understand and explain how pseudocraters are formed.
Protection Status
Skútustaðagígar were designated a protected area in 1973. The protected site covers just under 70 hectares.
The objective of the protection designation is to preserve the appearance of the pseudocraters, ensure public access, and safeguard the land-use rights of landowners.
Pseudocraters are highly sensitive to disturbance, and special conservation measures are required wherever visitor access occurs in order to preserve them.