Vallhólmur

Vallhólmur
District
Country	Iceland
County	Skagafjörður (municipality)
Boroughs	Farms Syðra-Vallholt, Ytra-Vallholt, Vellir, Langamýri

Vallhólmur, also called Hólmurinn, is a flatland area in the middle of Skagafjörður, Iceland, formed from sediment from the Héraðsvötn river—it is in fact an old seabed. The area's eastern boundary is the Héraðsvötn and Húseyjarkvísl,[1] and its western is Vindheimamelar. Vallhólmur becomes the Eylendið plain to the north, but the name "Eylendið" sometimes encompasses both areas.[2]

The region is flat and level except for two hills that rise up from the plain, Skiphóll and Vallholt. There are two farms with the same name, Syðra- and Ytra-Vallholt (South- and Far Vallholt), up against the back of Vallholt, and a short distance from Vallalaug spring, which is often mentioned in the Sturlunga saga and other sources from that era. Other farms in Vallhólmur are Vellir[3] and Langamýri.[4] A few of the farms in eastern Vallhólmur, which are now abandoned, belonged to Akrahreppur. This suggests that the Héraðsvötn previously ran further west, at least intermittently.

Vallhólmur is grassy and a grass pellet plant operated there for years, but it has since ceased operations.[1] Vallhólmur also has what is considered an excellent racetrack.[5]

References

1. Bjorn (2017-02-18). "Vallholmur". NAT. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
2. Jónasson, Hallgrímur (1946). Árbók Ferðafélags Íslands [Iceland Travel Association Yearbook] (in Icelandic) (Skagafjörður ed.). Ferðafélag Íslands.
3. Jónsson, Margeir. "Vellir". nafnið.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2025-01-23.
4. "Langamýri – Iceland Road Guide". Retrieved 2025-01-23.
5. Kolka, Páll V. G. (1951). Föðurtún (in Icelandic). p. 467. Þrátt fyrir þá miklu blóðblöndun, sem orðið hefur milli Húnvetninga og Skagfirðinga á báðar hliðar, þá hefur mönnum alltaf verið ljós sá mikli munur, sem er á skaphöfn manna í þessum tveimur héruðum og varla verður útskýrður nema með áhrifum ytra umhverfis og sögulegra erfða. Meginhluti Skagafjarðar er ein samfelld breiða með þéttsettri og víða tvísettri bæjarröð beggja megin Héraðsvatna, auk byggðar í Hegranesi og Vallhólmi. Héraðsvötn, sem að vísu voru allmikill farartálmi á sumrum, eru hin æskilegasta samgönguleið og skeiðvöllur á vetrum.