Kverkfjöll

Two ice-filled calderas are believed to be in the Kverkfjöll mountains and on the Kverkfjöll ridge. The caldera to the south is covered by a glacier but the rims of the northern caldera are mostly ice-free except on the south side. The caldera lie at an altitude of around 1,800 m. The highest peak is Skarphéðinstindur, 1936 m above sea level, on the eastern part of the range. The mountains are divided into eastern and western halves by Kverk, a wide pass cutting through steep, rocky walls. Kverkjökull glacier flows outwards via the pass to the north-west down to the highland plateau, which is approximately 900 m above sea level. Massive glacier tongues extend from the Vatnajökull ice cap on both sides of the Kverkfjöll mountains, and to the west is Dyngjujökull while Brúarjökull is to the east.

Kverkfjallarani (Kverkfjöll ridge) is for the most part made up of 5-6 parallel hyaloclastite ridges with the peaks steadily getting higher as one draws closer to the Kverkfjöll mountains. A rift valley named Hraundalur extends through the length of Kverkfjallarani towards Kverk and divides it into an east and a west ridge. Into its innermost part creep moraine glaciers from the eastern Kverkfjöll.

The glacial river Kreppa issues from the western edge of Brúarjökull while Jökulsá á Fjöllum issues in many tributaries from under Dyngjujökull. The largest tributaries of Jökulsá issue from under the glacier just to the west of Kverkfjöll mountains while further to the east some tributaries disappear into the sand scoured lava. Fine glacial clay is deposited which is subsequently swept up by the wind causing large mist columns that can close down visibility and be carried far and wide.