Even though the name 'Iceland' suggests coldness, it is actually one of the hottest places on the earth. Because of it's volcanic activity, that generates the hot thermal underground springs, that vent steam all over the island.
We are visiting a very active spot where we will see an exploding geysir. It is called the 'Geysir Hot Springs Geothermal Area,' located in the Haukadalur valley that was on our 'Golden Circle tour.'
Before getting off the bus, our tour guide reminded us that the hospital is 60 km away....why?....because if you touch the water from the geysirs, it can scaled you, she tells us?
Good safety tip....on our way, stay on the path....and be respectful of the power.
Many steaming puddles....bubbling with power generating underneath.
Below is Little Geysir, which constantly bubbles and emits a very strong sulphurous smell. It doesn't have the strength to erupt but is quite eager to try.
I wonder what all these people are waiting for? They are all standing on one side of a geysir called Strokker, the still very active one.
Approximately every 4-8 minutes it will erupt. The pool of water is so interesting to watch. It heaves and sinks over and over and then.....watch for it.....watch for it.....
It forms this enormous water bubble and............
.....there it is! This photo was painstakingly worked on for quite a while? The dilemma was how to watch for the 'bubble' and when to snap the photo? When the geysir erupted this time, it started to hiccup and spewed 7 times in a row! And we were there to see that anomaly. It was awesome.
In it's full glory. Shooting hot steaming water twenty five to thirty meters into the sky.
Incredible.
Other hot but non-spewing geysers are all around. Checking out this enormous hole in this dormant geysir and it is amazing to me how deep this must be for the power to boil this water on the surface?
Below is the quiet now, Great Geysir, that would produce 70-80 meter high eruptions in it's day. Why is it quiet? What is going on underneath that it shifts it's force to a different geysir in the nearby area? Scary and interesting to ponder that.
I hear a collaborative 'WOW' from the group at the Strokker geysir, and I take one last look and last photo of an incredible force of nature.
Wedgies in Iceland? A fun statue at the Geysir centre? I got nothing.
Heading out we can see miles and miles of volcanic lava flows. Covered in moss, it is quite a sight to behold. Hard to get my head around the fact that all these areas were covered with hot molten lava at one time?
Steam escaping through a fissure in the land. We see this often on our tour this day.
I took this photo of this boulder that is sitting quietly in a field. Is it me, or does it look red hot? I'm not touching it to find out, but I bet it is just the colouring....as there were no active erupting volcanos I could see nearby?
We are driving to the Pingvellir National Park to see the most powerful force of nature.
This is an area that graphically shows the rift that marks some of the spots were the tectonic plates are ripping the island of Iceland apart. The European and North American tectonic plates run across Iceland from the southwest to the northeast. This is part of a split of the North American tectonic plate and a smaller plate called the Hreppar Microplate.
Ok....but I have to show you first the colourful and rare Harlequin Duck. The male is very distinctive. The combo of colours are deep slate blue, with white stripes on it's body, head and neck, with chestnut colour on the sides of it's body, with a faint blue-grey bill, and grey legs. You cannot miss this fellow.
Bird watchers come from all over the world to see this rare bird and Deb and I saw it twice! Oh yeah!
Witnessing this kind of evolution and formation of the earth is quite amazing for us. You can see where the earth is heaving, splitting, lifting and sinking. This entire area is filled with fissures.
This rock shows where lava flowed, then cooled as it moved forward making this incredible ripples in the now lava rock.
Absolute evidence that something quite profound is happening here, Below you can see gigantic splits of the earth. They appear like canyons. Some are filled with waters while others are dry.
You can see in the photo below, that visitors to this area can explore all around this interesting landscape. It is quite beautiful even though it seems destructive,
The day ended with a view of the herds of Icelandic horses in the pastures of Iceland with the mountain backdrops. Gorgeous.
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