Surtabrandsgil

Lignite Canyon is a protected nature preserve in the Westfjords. It is in the land of Brjánslækur on Barðarströnd within the boundaries of the West Settlement. The protected area is 272 ha. Lignite Canyon contains forest remnants in sediments about 12 million years old. It has plant residues (leaves, fruit, seeds and pollen)deposited in a relatively shallow lake along with diatoms. Flakes from the canyon are light of diatoms on one side and dark on the other. The tree species that formed forests at this site 12 million years ago are extinct, but they are related to current tree species such as your conifers, pine, spruce, Japanese redwood, and pine water and deciduous trees bait beech, anganwood, birch, older, quadricentric, hazel, maple, magnolia, platanwood, lyngrose, sweet petal, top, tulip tree, walnut, willow, Wingnut, thorn and asp.