Jökla is one of the greatest river in Iceland stretching over 150 km, with its source in Vatnajokul glacier, passing through the upper and lower valley of Jokuldalur all the way to the sea. As a glacier river, before the days of Karahnjukar dam, this river bursts through the canyon in all its glory and magnificent force. Through the centuries this river has taken lives and caused damages on the land and livestock of the farmers.
Many old stories have preserved describing the living conditions and the habits of the people living in the valley. One picturesque story of these conditions highlighting the resourcefulness of the locals. The story describes how people communicated when it was impossible to cross the river. People used the echoes’ nature of the canyon to shout across in the canyon. In fact, this is a certain art that is hard learned and not for everyone to adapt. Communicating by shouting, people needed to know how sound travelled across in the wind, demanding the shouter to be situated correctly and of course shout loud enough. Habitants used to follow the river’s behaviour closely in order to estimate the weather and find good timing to cross the river. After bridges emerged in the valley these techniques and capabilities of the people in the valley have vanished.