Esjan
Volcanic mountain range of basalt and tuff, its name an old word for flagstone, rising north of the capital.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Esjan, the mountain range rising north of Reykjavik, opens with a legend: a wealthy Irish woman said to have sailed into the fjord, claimed the land at its foot, and given the whole range her name in a medieval saga. Historians now doubt the story runs in that direction at all. The guide follows the plain Icelandic word behind the name and the everyday use locals once made of this rock, long before anyone believed in her fortune. Listen for what the legend left out.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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