Exploring Iceland

Waterfalls at the edge of the North American plate

Icelandair made it very affordable to get to the UK and then sweetened the deal by allowing a stopover on one leg of our journey. How could we refuse?  I’ve always been a sucker for geology, so I’m more than happy to explore a place with glaciers, volcanoes, tectonic plates, geothermal activity and birds (ok, so not very geological).

Since we really only had one day, we booked the Golden Circle tour to hit the “must see” places. Turns out there are more “must see” places than the ones we saw - but we didn’t have a week to explore them all. Here are a few pictures of what we saw:

Geothermal energy plant - Iceland gets all of its grid electricity from hydro and geothermal sources.  Heating is 85% geothermal, using hot water right from the earth to heat homes and businesses. Sure, the hot water smells and tastes like deviled eggs, but think of the carbon footprint you’re mitigating!

Fridheimar Farm is an organic, hydroponic vegetable farm that uses integrated pest management and geothermal power to grow tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuces year round (even in the winter when no sun shines!).

A little about the farm.

Rows and rows of tomatoes!

The Golden Circle visits the Geysir Hot Spring Area of Haukadalur Valley, Gullfoss waterfall, and  Thingvellir National Park (site of tectonic schism). It is a long day on a bus, but some amazing wonders to behold.

Hot springs - some get as hot as 200 degrees F!

That she blows! Strokkur geyser erupts about every 5 minutes.

Strokkur Geyser

Another hot spring - this one not so boiling.

Gullfoss  - or Golden Waterfall. 

Gullfoss

Ready for a climb?

No more Emperor Hadrian busts to pose with...just lupines!

The North American Wall - the facing edge in a rift valley!

Iceland was fun to explore - we did manage to see the Langjökull glacier while at Gullfoss and hiked to the top of a 515 foot ridge to get an amazing view of volcanoes in the distance. Even in summer it was cool (notice the hat I’m wearing in the above picture?) - and there is no sunset, just dusk for a few hours. It definitely can mess up your circadian rhythm! But if you are an earth science fan, Iceland has got to be on your short list of sites to visit!