Iceland - Part 5

Geothermal Fields

Iceland sits atop the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where the North American and European tectonic plates are separating. The Icelandic Rift Zone cuts diagonally through the country. In the picture below, taken on our first day in Iceland, the European plate is on the left and the North American plate is on the right.

Iceland has active volcanoes, and there are many hot spots not far below the surface. After seeing the fissure between tectonic plates pictured above, we visited a geothermal field near a geothermal power plant. We were warned not to venture too near scalding volcanic vents by signs like this.

Hot vapors and smelly sulfur fumes spewed from the ground.

This hole emitted a warning hiss. The ground around these vents had coloring reminiscent of Jupiter's volcanic moon, Io.

We also saw bubbling mud pots.

Here's a mosaic wide angle view of part of the geothermal field. Click on the image for a larger view.

A geothermal power plant can be seen in the center background of the previous picture with plumes of steam rising in the distance. Iceland gets approximately 26% of its energy from geothermal plants. The overwhelming majority of heating and hot water for buildings is supplied by geothermal sources. The remainder of Iceland's energy requirements are met almost entirely by hydroelectric plants. Iceland must have the greatest renewable energy infrastructure in the world! On our last day of touring we saw the geothermal power plant in the background of the previous picture from a different angle. This new view of the power plant is shown in the next picture. The plumes are steam, not polluting smoke.

Iceland is famous for its Blue Lagoon located near a different geothermal power plant. This is an outdoor spa where people soak in warm water no matter what weather exists. Click for a larger image.

C went in the Blue Lagoon, but I did not. Instead, I hung around to document her experience. Undressing, showering, stuffing a locker, getting soaked, and carting around the resulting wet bathing suit afterward just didn't appeal to me. C enjoyed cruising around the steamy lagoon and smearing white mud pack skin treatment on her face. You can see some of this white stuff on her forehead in the picture below.

Geysers are another phenomenon associated with geothermal fields. We visited the site of the Icelandic geyser, named Geysir, which gave its name to all other geysers. The boiling water hole pictured below bubbled vigorously while rain fell and foggy mist surrounded us.

The blue cauldron in the next picture is where the Strokkur geyser originates. It erupts 25 to 35 meters high about once every 8 to 10 minutes. We saw it erupt 4 or 5 times. It was quite a show!

Other pools of hot blue water were scattered about near the geysers.

Here is the famous prototype geyser, named Geysir. It doesn't erupt on a regular schedule, and didn't erupt while we were present. Apparently, it is active only after earthquakes.

After visiting the geysers we returned to our tour bus, damp, but happy.