farm-houses, Selialand on the eastern and
Thvera on the western side. Till, however,
such time as a new route is effected across
the lava itself, between Siden and Fliotsh-
verfet, and also between Thvera and Selialand,
it will be very troublesome for persons
who may have to travel between these two
places ; as they will be obliged to pursue a
long and tedious course round the whole
extent of the lava.
§ XXIII.
Skaptaa and other Having now arrived at the
waters. Skaptaa, and examined, not
merely this great stream, but also the subordinate
rivers and brooks, which had been
stopped in their course or had wholly lost
their waters, I found that this river still
continued to flow uninterruptedly from its
origin as far as a place below Uxatindur and
opposite to Hordubreid, where the torrent
of fire that had from the northward broken
through Ulfarsdal filled up the channel,
as has been before described. That the
river has not been impeded in its progress
before it reached this place, I conclude
from the circumstance of its being here
that we first observed stagnant water, which
I consider a sure sign. It was not possible
to have a view of the river itself, on account
of the lava having, above this spot,
accumulated to a considerable height; and
because the atmosphere was everywhere filled
with a thick smoke, caused by the dreadful
heat, which still existed both here and
throughout the whole extent of the upper
part of the lava.
A little below this place the volcanic
matter becomes still narrower, and there,
on its western side, as well as upon the lava
itself, we remarked several large pools of
stagnant water, collected from the rivers
Efri and Sydri-Ofaera, which, as well
as the Skaptaa, were here choked up.
Some streamlets, indeed, had found a passage
along the west of the hraun, but nevertheless
in this spot the confined waters
became larger, and were more connected
with each other.
Towards the east no body of water appeared
to have made its way, until we came
where the lava had filled up the channel of