Glerá river

Glerá river

Glerá River (lit. River of Glass) is a river in northern Iceland. It originates from glaciers in the mountains of Tröllaskagi peninsula and also draws water from some fresh water springs on its way down Glerá Valley. It runs through the town of Akureyri before it flows into the sea in Eyjafjörður. The river formed the sandbank of Oddeyri where it enters the sea. The river was important in the dawn of the industrial age in Akureyri when it was dammed and used to produce electricity in the 20th century. The original power station has been demolished now but the dam remains. A new power station has been built to commemorate 100 years of hydroelectric power in Iceland. This 290 kW (rated capacity) power station was opened on August 27th 2005.

The river used to separate Akureyri proper from Glerá Village which was the settlement north of Glerá but it merged with the township of Akureyri in early 20th century. Today the part of Akureyri that is north of Glerá is called Glerárhverfi (Glerá Borough) or Þorpið (The Village) and more than 7000 of the town's 17000 residents live there.