The Snæfell Wilderness Area takes it name from Mt. Snæfell, which at 1,833 m is the highest mountain in Iceland that is not enclosed by glacier. West of Snæfell, the plain between the mountain and the foothills is about 800m high and is called Sandar. Sandar is a good place to spot large herds of reindeer, especially in late summer.
A central volcano with magnificent rhyolite formations, Snæfell was created by eruptions over the last 400,000 years. Exactly when the last eruption occurred and whether the volcano is now active or extinct are matters of debate.
Some believe that Snæfell’s peak rose above the sheets of ice covering the island during the last glaciation of the Ice Age. That is when the hyaloclastite foothills surrounding the mountain were being formed through sub-glacial eruptions.
Lónsöræfi is a wilderness area in south-east Iceland. The region is characterised by its varied geological formations.[citation needed] These mostly date from a period between 5 to 7 million years ago, when the volcano Kollumúlaeldstöðvar was active.[citation needed] The glacier tongues of the eastern extreme of Vatnajökull also impose themselves on the area. Visible to the north-west is Snæfell (1833m), the highest peak in Iceland that isn’t part of a glacier.