Nýidalur

Nýidalur (830m) lies on highland road F26 with Tungnafellsjökull glacier nearby. There are huts with bunk/dorm accommodation run by the Icelandic touring club. We only had our lunch break there and thankfully could use the hut, on two former visits we were shivering on the benches outside...The water in the washrooms is the coldest I have ever experienced!

This part of Sprengisandur highland desert has permafrost, the 1st note shows the polygonal patterns made by ice wedges. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_wedge

Frostspalten: lineare Schrumpfrisse in gefrorenem Boden, die durch Kontraktion bei sehr tiefen Temperaturen gebildet werden, an der Bodenoberfläche bilden sie oft ein Polygonnetz. Durch Gefrieren von eindringendem Schmelzwasser werden Eiskeile gebildet.



Yet even in this harsh climate flowers grow:
Bartsia alpina (Alpenhelm)

Silene acaulis (Moss campion, Stängelloses Leimkraut, Lambagras)