Skaftafell National Park is situated between Kirkjubæjarklaustur, typically referred to as Klaustur, and Höfn in the south of Iceland. The landscape is very similar to some of the Alps, but it has been formed over thousands of years by different influences of fire (volcanic eruptions of Öræfajökull) and water (the glaciers Skeiðarájökull and Skaftafellsjökull), the rivers Skeiðará, Morsá and Skaftafellsá, seen in this image. Volcanic eruptions under the ice-cap can give rise to jökulhlaups (glacial floods) which swell the river massively. The sandy wasteland between the glacier and the sea caused by jökulhlaups is called Skeiðarársandur, and is a typical outwash plain known locally as a sandur. The last large jökulhlaup occurred in 1996. Soon after Iceland was settled, Skaftafell became a major farm, and area meetings (þing) were held on its land. The disastrous Öræfajökull eruption of 1362 wiped out the entire local community and the district has been named Öræfi, the "wasteland", ever since.