Insight Guides Iceland (Travel Guide eBook) by Insight Guides

Author:Insight Guides
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Travel, Iceland
Publisher: Apa Publications
Published: 2019-07-25T16:00:00+00:00

The hot spring Vígðalaug.

Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications

The land of boiling waters

Both Routes 35 and 37 finally lead to Geysir 8 [map], which has given its name to all such water spouts around the world. Sadly, the Great Geysir, which started erupting in 1294 and used to reach heights of around 60 metres (200ft), hasn’t performed well for decades. In the 20th century, irresponsible visitors tipped bits of rubbish into its mouth in an effort to force an explosion, and soap powder was used to break the surface tension on special occasions such as Independence Day; but the geyser remained near-dormant. It was quite a shock, therefore, when Geysir suddenly sprang back to life for several weeks in June 2000, spouting water up to 40 metres (130ft) into the air. Earthquakes in Southern Iceland had briefly changed the subterranean pressure, giving the great Geysir a short spell of renewed vitality; since then, however, it has settled back into a slumberous state once again.

Luckily, the Great Geysir’s ever-reliable neighbour, Strokkur (“the churn”), bursts upwards every five minutes or so to a height of around 20 metres (66ft). Meanwhile, the whole Geysir area is geothermically active, with walking trails marked out among steaming vents, turquoise pools and glistening, multicoloured mud formations. Don’t stand downwind of Strokkur unless you want to get soaked; keep behind the roped-off areas; and definitely refrain from putting your hands in water pools to test their temperatures – it may sound silly, but it’s surprising how many people do it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.