Askja ([ˈascja] (listen)) is an active volcano situated in a remote part of the central highlands of Iceland. The name Askja refers to a complex of nested calderas within the surrounding Dyngjufjöll mountains, which rise to 1,510 m (4,954 ft), askja meaning box or caldera in Icelandic.
The region is only accessible for a few months of the year. Being situated in the rain shadow to the northeast of the Vatnajökull glacier, the area receives only about 450 mm of rainfallannually. The area was used during training for the Apollo program to prepare astronauts for the lunar missions. Their main objective in Askja was to study geology.
Öskjuvatn is a lake in the Highlands of Iceland. Its surface area is about 11 km². With a depth of 217 m (712 ft), it is the second deepest lake in Iceland after Jökulsárlón.
The lake is situated in the crater of the volcano Askja in the north-east of the glacier Vatnajökull. Its name simply means the lake of Askja. Like the neighbouring crater Víti, it was created by an enormous volcanic eruption in 1875.
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