Sampling Iceland’s Geology

Last night we learned that the four Greenland ports we were scheduled to visit are too iced in for the ship to go there. So there’s been a bit of a change to the itinerary and we’re visiting two different Greenland ports (I’m sure you’ll be relieved to know that there are caches at both ports) and an additional Icelandic port.  

Today we were in Akureyri, Iceland which is on the north shore more or less in the center of the country, though at the “base” of a fjord. 

Most of the group I’m traveling with joined on a day trip bus tour of the Mývatn region which, if one believes the tourist information, is “renowned for its fascinating geological formations, volcanic lava fields, and hot-springs.” I concur that there were fascinating geological elements in the area. 

We learned a number of interesting things. First, the population of Iceland is about 396,000 (not quite the 400,000 that was hoped for in the most recent census) — and people are outnumbered by sheep but not by waterfalls (though there are about 10,000 waterfalls here). The flag is red for fire, blue for water, and white for ice. As our guide Kjartan said about his country, “nothing grows here except potatoes and misery.” He also was very interested in the weather — apparently May was unseasonably hot with 20 consecutive warm days but they got snow in June. 

Our first stop was Godafoss waterfall (written in Icelandic as Goðafoss). It was impressive, about 30 meters wide and about 12 meters tall. It’s the “waterfall of the gods” because apparently when Iceland chose to adopt Christianity, they threw sculptures of the pagan gods into the waterfall. Admittedly I’m more than a bit spoiled when it comes to waterfalls since Oregon (especially the Columbia Gorge) has so many beautiful examples, but this was a very, very nice waterfall. Curved like Niagara Falls, more wide than tall (like Niagara Falls and also like Rhinefalls), and an awful lot of water falling at a time. Unfortunately, I only had time to visit one side of the river (the side more people explored). 

The rocks along the river below the falls were fascinating, presumably at least partially shaped by the water — the picture shows one of the many arches next to a small trickle of the falls. 

Next we visited the Skutustadir (Skútustaðagígar in Icelandic) craters, or, more accurately, “pseudo craters” which form when piping hot thin-flowing molten lava flows over a wetland or boggy areas. The hot lava boils the water of the wetlands and the steam pressure causes explosions, creating clusters of pseudocraters. So they are not exactly volcanic, but they wouldn’t have formed without the volcanic actions. My picture doesn’t do it justice, but it reminded me of a challenging golf course. 

As we continued our way around Mývatn Lake — which was pretty though neither spectacular nor especially photogenic, we stopped at Dimmuborgir to see some impressive lava fields. I particularly enjoyed the ones that I’m sharing here (especially the bottom one which we saw first). We climbed up a few steps to a small cave that had lanterns in it, and a few more steps in a different spot to a very nice but rather crowded arch. As we were leaving there was a search and rescue operation taking place and Kjarten suggested that it would definitely make the national news (I checked later but did not find anything though I could only understand the English language Icelandic news).  

There was a sign at Dimmuborgir about the Yule Lads. Apparently there are 13 of them and they are pranksters. Kids place their showed in a window each night starting 13 days before Christmas and receive a small gift each day. Each of the 13 Yule Lads has a different personality. I didn’t follow the whole story, but this should be sufficient information for anyone who wants to learn more about this tradition. 

Lunch was at a picnic area that seemed very barren and desolate. The were nearby hot springs (the blue water and the steam in the background are both natural, not pollution) in one direction and hills in the other.

A few minutes’ drive from the picnic spot was Hverir which was a geothermal area filled with sulfur smells, boiling mud, and scenes that looked like they came from another planet. The “glug glug” sounds of the boiling mud were eerie. The range of colors of precipitate in the areas around the boiling mud was amazing — blues, greens, grays, oranges, browns, yellows and I might be missing some. I kept wondering if people who create paint samples visit areas such as this to identify different shades. Some of the boiling mud puddles were tiny (maybe fist-sized), others huge (big enough to fit a car). In most places, the mud was a deep gray. Needless to say, we did not get too close to the hot spots. This picture shows adjacent mud puddles and a sampling of the many colors of precipitate. 

Nothing was growing anywhere near the bubbling mud. I was surprised to see this flower (apparently a Sea Campion) growing in the shelter of a small dirt pile surprisingly close to the boiling mud.

And it was very interesting to see the circles of grass. Presumably the grass is in the outline of a no-longer-boiling piece of mud. It’s not hard to understand why the local lore includes trolls and elves….perhaps these are their footprints. 

On the way back to Akureyri we learned a bit more about Iceland’s fauna. Icelandic horses, while not native, are purebred. It is not legal to import any other horses, and even a purebred Icelandic horse that leaves the country cannot return. These horses have 5 gaits (we normally think of only 3: walk, trot, and canter), live outside year round, grow a furry winter coat, and are small but definitely horses, not ponies. Other imported animals include sheep, and reindeer. The Arctic fox is one of the few indigenous animals, falcons are the national bird. 

And finally, in Akureyri, traffic lights are unique. The green and yellow lights are, like elsewhere, round. The red lights are heart-shaped. And apparently this is becoming controversial, but the locals are adamant about keeping their hearts.