Hörgárdalur

The valley is wide and fertile at its mouth until its intersection with Öxnadalur; the area on the east side of the river here is known as Þelamörk (Thelamörk).

On the west side they reach 1,500 metres (4,900 ft), and in the Drangafjall ridge dividing the valley from Öxnadalur, the pointed peak of Hraundrangi (lava column) stands out.

[3] The historical main settlement in the valley is Möðruvellir [ˈmœðrʏˌvɛtlɪr̥], at its northeastern end, which was the site of an Augustinian monastery, founded in 1296,[4] and of one of Iceland's first academic secondary schools, founded in 1880; the school moved to Akureyri after a fire in 1902 and is now Akureyri Junior College.

[4] Möðruvellir was the birthplace of Jón Sveinsson and of Hannes Hafstein, and also of Valtýr Stefánsson (1893–1963), the editor of Morgunblaðið.

[5][n 1] Skuggi [ˈskʏcːɪ] is the site of a Viking Age tenant farm that has been investigated by archaeologists in association with the Icelandic Archaeological Institute (Fornleifastofnun Íslands) for information on economic relationships in that era, in particular with Möðruvellir and the trading settlement of Gásir, in Eyjafjörður.