Having crossed the _Geitlandsá_, Goat-River, we followed it down to the _Barnafoss_, Child-Falls, so named because of the drowning of some children at this place by accident. Some guide books call these falls the _Geitlandsáfoss_, Goat-River-Falls. In ancient times, when places were named in Iceland there must have been many goats in various portions of the country for we came across the name in various places; thus there are several “goat” mountains, “goat” gullies, “goat” rivers, etc. Personally I have seen one flock of goats only in the entire range of my travels and that was near _Ljósavatn_. The explanation is that they will not stand the wet climate as well as the sheep. When the cold driving rains sweep down the mountain slopes the goats run to shelter while the sheep will continue their feeding. At these falls the water, in a series of three strong leaps, drops over one hundred feet into the canyon. The rock formation at this point is of interest to the geologist, for there is a large mass of metamorphosed obsidian. It is the only rock formation of this character that I have ever witnessed, either in position or as samples in a collection of minerals and rocks in science museums. An examination of this formation leads to the following conclusion. In an early eruption a large mass of obsidian was formed at this place. During a more recent lava flow the heat of the adjacent flowing rock rendered this mass of obsidian plastic; this caused it to stick to the passing lava stream, like molten glass, and it was thus pulled, twisted and stretched into its present shape. This is a lovely series of _fosses_. The water from the rapidly melting glaciers pours out of the narrow confines of the basaltic canyon and at the foot of each fall forms a grand basin of emerald green water in a weird rock setting. Towards _Kalmungstúnga_ there is a good sized forest, for Iceland, and the grass plains, through which this canyon cuts a great gray gash, form a real oasis in this elevated lava waste, shut in by towering mountains capped eternally with adamantine ice. But by far the greatest interest here is the series of waterfalls, at the foot of the _Barnafoss_, which pour out of the lava in a half-mile series of cascades and waterspouts. North of _Kalmungstúnga_ the waters from _Eyriks Jökull_ flow into the lava and doubtless into subterranean channels like the tunnel of _Surtshellir_. This river flows many miles under ground and reappears at this point beside the brink of the _Hvitá_ canyon. The rock formation which makes this strange waterfall possible is as follows:—