Travel photos and blogs
Iceland
Featured Photo: Iceland’s Old Faithful blows off steam approx. every 5 minutes
Iceland is a small country in the North Atlantic just outside the Arctic Circle. It has a population of 350,000 and an area of 103,000 km2 (40,000 sq mi), making it the most sparsely populated country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Reykjavík, home to over two-thirds of the population. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active. The interior consists of a plateau characterized by sand and lava fields, mountains and glaciers, while many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate and tundra look.
Tourism is the number one industry in Iceland surpassing fish exports. So, I’m not the only person who has always wanted to make a stop in Iceland during one of those trans-Atlantic flights. It seems that nearly everyone I talk to has either been or wants to desperately visit this small island. There’s just something mystical about Iceland, something that grabs a hold of our collective travel souls and refuses to let go. I am already plotting my return visit. Add to that the fact it’s a short and easy flight from both North America and Europe, and it really is the perfect destination for a quick getaway. In trying to better understand what makes it so special though, I uncovered some strange and weird facts: Check this out.
Floating around the 37–39 °C (99–102 °F) Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa was one stop I will always remember (no photos because my camera is not water-proof and the visit was after sunset). The lagoon is a man-made lagoon interspersed and surrounded by 800 year old lava. The lagoon is fed by the water output of the nearby geothermal power plant Svartsengi and is renewed every two days. Superheated water is vented from the ground near a lava flow and used to run turbines that generate electricity. After going through the turbines, the steam and hot water passes through a heat exchanger to provide heat for a municipal water heating system. Then the water is fed into the lagoon for recreational and medicinal users to bathe in.
Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa with 37–39 °C (99–102 °F) mineral water
The 2nd memorable stop was called Haukadalur Geothermal Area. It is a geologic wonder of mud pots, hot springs and geysers. If you have ever done geyser gazing at Yellowstone National Park, this valley was just as spectacular. The Great Geysir (below) is one of theworld’s most amazing geysers and estimated to have been active for up to 10,000 years.
Iceland’s Old Faithful — The Great Geysir in the Haukadalur valley blows off steam approx. every 5 minutes
Golden Falls (Gullfoss)
Glacial water is brownish, since it carries lots of sediments that the glacial ice has carved off the earth. Gullfoss is called the “Golden Falls”, since on a sunny day the water plunging down the three step staircase and then tumbeling in two steps down into the 32m deep gorge looks golden.
Golden Falls — fed by a huge glacier
First Parliament — reconstructed buildings — established at Þingvellir in 930 — citizens still dislike their politicians
Renewable sources—geothermal and hydropower provide effectively all of Iceland’s electricity and around 85% of the nation’s total primary energy consumption — oil is imported for the fishing fleet and vehicles.
Geothermal Electric Power Generation Plant
The tectonic plates which grind against each other formed Iceland. The Eurasian tectonic plate and the North American tectonic plate have created crevices all over the country.
The Tectonic Plates have created ditches — stand on one side in North America and the other Europe
The Icelandic horse is a breed of horse developed in Iceland. Pound for pound they are the strongest breed in the world. Although the horses are small, at times pony-sized, most registries for the Icelandic refer to it as a horse. Icelandic horses are long-lived and hardy.
Icelandic horses originally came to Iceland on Viking ships
Tourism is the number one industry in Iceland surpassing fish exports. So, I’m not the only person who has always wanted to make a stop in Iceland during one of those trans-Atlantic flights. It seems that nearly everyone I talk to has either been or wants to desperately visit this small island. There’s just something mystical about Iceland, something that grabs a hold of our collective travel souls and refuses to let go. I am already plotting my return visit. Add to that the fact it’s a short and easy flight from both North America and Europe, and it really is the perfect destination for a quick getaway. In trying to better understand what makes it so special though, I uncovered some strange and weird facts: Check this out.
Floating around the 37–39 °C (99–102 °F) Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa was one stop I will always remember (no photos because my camera is not water-proof and the visit was after sunset). The lagoon is a man-made lagoon interspersed and surrounded by 800 year old lava. The lagoon is fed by the water output of the nearby geothermal power plant Svartsengi and is renewed every two days. Superheated water is vented from the ground near a lava flow and used to run turbines that generate electricity. After going through the turbines, the steam and hot water passes through a heat exchanger to provide heat for a municipal water heating system. Then the water is fed into the lagoon for recreational and medicinal users to bathe in.
Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa with 37–39 °C (99–102 °F) mineral water
The 2nd memorable stop was called Haukadalur Geothermal Area. It is a geologic wonder of mud pots, hot springs and geysers. If you have ever done geyser gazing at Yellowstone National Park, this valley was just as spectacular. The Great Geysir (below) is one of theworld’s most amazing geysers and estimated to have been active for up to 10,000 years.
Iceland’s Old Faithful — The Great Geysir in the Haukadalur valley blows off steam approx. every 5 minutes
Golden Falls (Gullfoss)
Glacial water is brownish, since it carries lots of sediments that the glacial ice has carved off the earth. Gullfoss is called the “Golden Falls”, since on a sunny day the water plunging down the three step staircase and then tumbeling in two steps down into the 32m deep gorge looks golden.
Golden Falls — fed by a huge glacier
First Parliament — reconstructed buildings — established at Þingvellir in 930 — citizens still dislike their politicians
Renewable sources—geothermal and hydropower provide effectively all of Iceland’s electricity and around 85% of the nation’s total primary energy consumption — oil is imported for the fishing fleet and vehicles.
Geothermal Electric Power Generation Plant
The tectonic plates which grind against each other formed Iceland. The Eurasian tectonic plate and the North American tectonic plate have created crevices all over the country.
The Tectonic Plates have created ditches — stand on one side in North America and the other Europe
The Icelandic horse is a breed of horse developed in Iceland. Pound for pound they are the strongest breed in the world. Although the horses are small, at times pony-sized, most registries for the Icelandic refer to it as a horse. Icelandic horses are long-lived and hardy.
Icelandic horses originally came to Iceland on Viking ships
