Fresh lava field emitting vapor in Meradalir valley from the Fagradalsfjall volcano which recently erupted from August 3 to 21, 2022. The site was off the main highway going from the Gunnuhver Hot Springs to the Selfoss area.
Detail of fresh lava flow in Meradalir valley
3,000-year-old Kerid volcanic explosion crater and lake on 2nd day of tour. Photo by Joan Castleman
Þingvellir National Park Overlook at Almannagja (day 2): The view over Lake Þingvallavatn with interconnected faults in the lava fields on the bordering North American plate. Lava fields at Þingvellir have been radio-dated to be about 10,000 years old.
Þingvellir National Park Overlook at Almannagja (day 2) is at a rift valley on the crest of the Mid-Atlantic ridge. I’m standing on the North American plate which includes mountains on the left. Mountains on the far right are on the Eurasian tectonic plate. The sunken area with lakes and river in the center represents a graben where the surface drops as bordering tectonic plates are pulled apart. Large faults including Almannagja are on the left side of the valley.
Waterfall and deep pool bordered on left by stratified basalt layers from multiple lava flows and separation along the fault line. Þingvellir National Park. The area is included in the site where Alþingi, the world’s oldest running parliament was founded 1000 years ago. The deep pool in the foreground (Drekkingarhylur) was where Christian-influenced legal practices between 1565 and 1739 resulted in at least 18 women being sentenced to death for adultery, incest or infanticide. They were forced into a bag and drowned by submersion in the pool. Men convicted of the same offences were beheaded (a male body count isn’t available.)
Lunch stop at commercial hydroponic tomato farm (Fridheimar) on 2nd day of tour. Relatively inexpensive geothermal electric power for growth lamps and heat from circulating geothermal hot water allow year-round commercial tomato production so that Iceland grows most of its own tomatoes.
Fed and watered hydroponic tomato roots.
Cherry tomatoes approaching ripeness for harvest.
Hearty breads served with light, flavorful tomato soup at lunch at Fridheimer Tomato Farm. All of our meals on the trip were excellent. This stop was unusual in that no fish or meat was served. Other meals on the trip provided abundant fish (Cod and Salmon) and lamb which are major agricultural/fisheries products of the island. Excellent breads were served at most meals. Locally-produced beers were excellent. Tap water of the highest quality was served with each meal and kept our water bottle full. Photo by Joan Castleman.
Tomato ice cream was an unusual and delicious dessert served at Fridheimer Tomato Farm. Photo by Joan Castleman
Icelandic Horse demonstration at Fridheimer Tomato Farm. Next to the greenhouses are stables and track where Icelandic horses are bred and trained. The farm provides a short demonstration of the characteristics of this breed. The five (5) gaits of the horse were demonstrated on the track: walk, trot, canter, tölt, and flying pace. The photo shows the smooth tölt with the rider holding a glass of beer as the horse moved around the track.
Strokkur geyser on the second day of the tour in the Geysir hot spring area.
Gullfoss (Golden Falls) is a spectacular water fall where water flow undergoes two drops, the first is about 11m, and the second is about 21m. The direction of flow changes 4 times with direction of water flow changing at the end of each drop. The geologic explanation for the waterfall directions is the convergence of three faults and active seismic activity. One slip fault is located at the site of each water drop, and the main gorge/canyon follows a third normal fault.
High contrast image of Gullfoss and canyon walls show stratified layers that help explain how differential erosions contributes to the steps in Gullfoss. The top (1) and bottom (3) layers are columnar basalt that are more highly susceptible to water flow erosion than is the middle layer (2) that is composed of sedimentary materials from glacial moraine outflow that has become highly compacted and is more resistant to water flow erosion. (See texts and youtube videos of Prof. A. Gudmundsson, University of London).
Gullfoss (Golden Falls) panorama including the falls and the downstream gorge/canyon cut by the Hvítá river. The river water originates from glacial, spring and rain run-off and have an average flow of 110 cubic meters per second. The panorama lines up the three strata layers with the step levels of the falls. Watch the video of the falls on the Iceland tour main web page.
Aurora borealis viewed on day 2 of the trip at Hotel Ranga near Hella in southern Iceland. A short video clip from this evening is accessible on the main tour web page.
On the way to breakfast at Hotel Ranga, our favorite hotel on the trip. A polar bear taxidermy specimen in the hotel lobby reminds visitors that although not indigenous, 600 polar bears have shown up in Iceland as vagrants carried by sea ice.
Happy travelers sitting on the Ferry at Landeyjahöfn about to travel to Heimaey on the Westman Islands. Photo by Ken Bernstein.
Eyjafjallajökull volcano viewed from the ferry boat to the Westman Islands. This snow-covered volcano erupted in 2010 with heavy ash clouds causing disruption of air travel across Western Europe.
Bjarnarey, one of the Westman Islands viewed from the ferry. The Westman Islands are an archipelago of 15 islands formed from 70-80 volcanoes along a branch of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that have been active over the last 100 – 200 thousand years.
Steep cliffs of hyaloclastites containing red oxidized iron on Heimaklettur (the largest mountain) at the entry of the main harbor of Vestmannaeyjabaer on the island of Heimaey. Heimaey, the largest of the Westman islands, formed between 5,200 and 6,000 years ago. The cliffs are mainly hyaloclastites formed under glaciers or under sea where lava extrusion is rapidly cooled by ice and water to produce large glass-like crystals.
Eldfell is visible above the harbor buildings at Vestmannaeyjabaer. Eldfell is a volcano that was newly formed by an eruption in 1973 that forced the evacuation of the island and destroyed over 400 homes.
New fields of lava and tephra that extend to the north and west from Eldfell into the harbor are bordered by new structures (e.g., Stafkirkjan – Norwegian stave church). During the eruption, high-volume water pumps shot water onto the lava flow to make cooled walls/damns to divert the lava flow so that the harbor would not be completely blocked.
Remnant of destroyed house consumed by lava and tephra from the 1973 eruption. It is adjacent to the Eldheimar, a museum with excellent physical, photographic and video exhibits on the Eldfell eruption, the evacuation, and on adjacent island-building eruptions (Surtsey).
Newly constructed and rebuilt houses at the foot of Eldfell on Heimaey. On the far right of the field is Heimaklettur, the largest mountain on the island that has steep cliffs to the ocean.
Mural in Vestmannaeyjabaer.
Seljalandsfoss is a 60m waterfall of the Seljalandsá River over a coastal cliff which formed at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean when water levels were significantly higher. The cliff has at least three stratified layers. Hamragarðahraun lava (basalt flow from around 940 CE) is at the clifftop, tillite (compressed unsorted sediments of glacial sediment from the terminal moraine) is in the middle, and hyaloclastite formed by subglacial eruption and rapid cooling of lava is at the bottom.
Seljalandsfoss. Water for the falls originates primarily from the glacier atop the Eyjafjallajökull volcano.
Seljalandsfoss
