Note 67 — SECTION II. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF ICELAND.

Sprengisandur; from “sprengja,” to burst, to split (in an active sense); “að sprengja hest,” to burst a horse, to ride it till it bursts. This is the reason of the name: the Sprengisandur has so few halting places, that there is a danger of working the horse to death before coming to a station. It is generally and erroneously translated “springing,” i.e., wind-blown, sands. The Ruba’ el Kháli (“empty fourth,” or quarter) is the great Arabian Desert.