Þingvallavatn

---

title: "Þingvallavatn" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["lakes-of-iceland", "lava-dammed-lakes", "rift-lakes-of-iceland", "þingvellir"] description: "Lake in southwestern Iceland" topic_path: "general/lakes-of-iceland" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Þingvallavatn" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Lake in southwestern Iceland ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox lake"]

Field	Value
name	Þingvallavatn
image	Thingvallavatn.jpg
caption	Fissures at the lake
location	Þingvellir National Park
coords
outflow	Sog
basin_countries	Iceland
area	84 km2
depth	34 m
max-depth	114 m
volume	2.856 km3
residence_time	11 months
islands	Sandey
pushpin_map	Iceland
pushpin_map_alt	Location of Þingvallavatn in Iceland.
::

|name = Þingvallavatn |image = Thingvallavatn.jpg |caption = Fissures at the lake |image_bathymetry = |caption_bathymetry = |location = Þingvellir National Park |coords = |type = |inflow = |outflow = Sog |catchment = |basin_countries = Iceland |length = |width = |area=84 km2 |depth = 34 m |max-depth = 114 m |volume = 2.856 km3 |residence_time = 11 months |shore = |elevation = |islands = Sandey |cities = |pushpin_map = Iceland |pushpin_label_position = |pushpin_map_alt = Location of Þingvallavatn in Iceland. |pushpin_map_caption = |website = |reference = Þingvallavatn (, ), anglicised as Thingvallavatn, is a rift valley lake in southwestern Iceland. With a surface of 84 km2 it is the largest natural lake in Iceland. Its greatest depth is 114 m. At the northern shore of the lake, at Þingvellir (after which the lake is named), the Alþingi, the national parliament, was founded in the year 930, and held its sessions there until 1799 and still as of today the name Alþingi Íslendinga is carried by the parliament of Iceland.

The lake lies partially within Þingvellir National Park. The volcanic origin of the islands in the lake is clearly visible. The cracks and faults around it, of which the Almannagjá ravine is the largest, is where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates meet. Silfra fissure is a popular scuba and snorkeling site. The only outflow from lake Þingvallavatn is the river Sog.

One of the noted features of the lake is the presence of four morphs of the Arctic charr.

References

1. EÖÞ. "Vísindavefurinn: Hvað er Þingvallavatn djúpt?". Visindavefur.hi.is.
2. "Fróðleiksmoli: dvalartími vatns | Fróðleiksmolar | Veðurstofa Íslands". Vedur.is.
3. Malmquist, H. J., Snorrason, S. S., Skulason, S., Jonsson, B., Sandlund, O. T., & Jonasson, P. M. (1992). Diet differentiation in polymorphic Arctic charr in Thingvallavatn, Iceland. ''Journal of Animal Ecology'', 21–35.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::