THINGVELLIR, GEYSIR, GULLFOSS (Day 2)

We got up early and walked to the rental car place where we picked up our white Opel Corsa. It was cold and wet with very low clouds... but the landscape was incredible!

Our first stop was Thingvellir (the best I can approximate to the Icelandic alphabet), where the continental divide (between the European and North American tectonic plates) can be seen. This 4-mile wide and 25-mile long valley is the result of the plates drifting apart. Iceland is actually growing wider at a rate of several cenimeters each year.

We saw Oxararfoss (foss means waterfall, so this is the waterfall on the Oxara River) and the location of the first Icelandic parliament (the Althing) in the year 930. Thingvellir means "plains of parliament."

We hiked in the wind and rain through a steep cliff-lined valley down to Thingvallavatn (vatn means lake).

Again the scenery was amazing as we made out way to our next stop.

Iceland is situated along the mid-ocean ridge of the Atlantic Ocean. Geothermal features are common in this volcanic zone along the tectonic plate boundary. The Icelandic word 'geysir' means 'gusher' or 'one who rages'. Water seeps into the ground and travels through the highly fractured bedrock. At varying depths, it comes in contact with heat from volcanic sources. As it is heated, it ascends through fissures, crevices and the volcanic crust to emerge as hot springs and geysers.

The Great Geysir is located in the high temperature geothermal area of Haukadalur, where base temperatures reach 480 degrees F. It was once the tallest in the world, reaching heights of 260 feet (in comparison, Old Faithful only reaches 180 feet at its best). By 1915 it was mostly dormant because people discovered that by adding washing powder, they could make it erupt as often as they wished. Unfortunately this quickly killed the geyser.

The active geysir of Strokkur, however, still sends scalding hot water up to 115 feet in the air every 5 to 10 minutes.

Gullfoss (the "Golden waterfall") is comprised of two sets of falls: the top being 36 feet, and the lower set being 65 feet tall. The water was absolutely thunderous and there were no fences to prevent us from walking right up to the very edge!

We continued on to the town of Selfoss where we pitched a tent.

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