Geology – Page 3 – Geeky Girl Engineer

Þingvellir

Posted on May 27, 2014 by geek

Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park is one of those places that you must go to if in Iceland for good reason. It is historically significant as the place where the original Iceland government met, and it is amazing and beautiful site to see. It is also geologically fascinating because it sits where two major tectonic plates are spreading apart. Also, if you watch Game of Thrones, you will evidently recognize it. The very tall rock wall you can walk along side is known as Almannagjá, and it is just one of things you need to do in person to really grasp the awe of it. I found this to be a good source of information on the geology of the area.

Þingvellir view from visitor’s center

Almannagjá

Top of Almannagjá

Drekkingarhylur

Þingvellir

Moss on Þingvellir wall

Þingvellir Church

Þingvallabær

Þingvallavatn

Hverir

Posted on May 22, 2014 by geek

While exploring the Mývatn area of Iceland, we also visited Hverir. Hverir is a small area at the base of a mountain with steaming fumaroles and boiling mudpools and is totally cool. I am sure I have already described Iceland as cool, but this area is just so cool and fun to look at. Steam hisses out of fumaroles and mudpools just bubble up in front of you. In one of the mudpools, there was a less dense fluid on top of the bubbling mud, and it formed really interesting patterns as the liquid moved. There is caked mud and bubbling mud. There are sulfur and other mineral deposits on the ground. There is hissing steam. It is awesome.

Hverir landscape

Hverir mud pool

Hverir mud deposits

Hverir cracked dried mud

Hverir mud

Hverir mineral deposits

Hverir mud pool

Hverir mud patterns

Hverir fumarole

Dimmuborgir

Posted on May 22, 2014 by geek

Another site in the Mývatn region of Iceland that we explored is Dimmuborgir. It is an area of unusually shaped formations from volcanic activity. That is a boring way to describe it really. It is awesome, and it looks like hell, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. The formations are just bizarre really. Also the rocks vary in color and are quite pretty.

Dimmuborgir

Formation with clear layers of volcanic rock

Colorful volcanic rock

Grjótagjá

Posted on May 22, 2014 by geek

While exploring the Mývatn region of Iceland, we visited Grjótagjá. Grjótagjá is a small cave that has a geothermally heated natural pool inside it. It used to be used for bathing until volcanic activity in the 1970’s raised the temperature of water too high. It is still really cool though. The water is crystal clear, and steam can be seen rising from it. Above the cave, the landscape is fissured from the volcanic activity. It is just an incredibly interesting area.

Grjotagja

Grjotagja’s crystal clear water

Grjotagja cave entrance

Fissured landscape above the cave

Ring Road South

Posted on May 21, 2014 by geek

Day 6 in Iceland had us traveling the Ring Road from the center south area to the east. Iceland is a country of dramatic landscapes, and I just can’t get over the beauty of the land. We traveled over lava fields, along rocky coasts, and along fjords into the mountains. Below are a few photos of what we saw traveling the Ring Road.

view of Vestmannaeyjar islands

Eldhraun lava fields

Another waterfall

Rocky coast

Fjord

Looking down the glacier valley right before crossing the mountain top

Reindeer

Svartifoss

Posted on May 20, 2014 by geek

Day 5 in Iceland, after hiking up a glacier, we decided we needed more hiking, so we hiked to Svartifoss, yet another waterfall in Iceland. Svartifoss is particularly neat because it flows over basalt columns. Also there are of course more waterfalls on the way to Svartifoss, including Hundefoss.

Svartifoss

Svartifoss closeup with basalt columns

Basalt Columns

Basalt Columns morphed

Basalt Columns pieces

Hundafoss

Stream from Hundafoss

Hiking a Glacier

Posted on May 19, 2014 by geek

Day 5 in Iceland started with us taking an amazing hike up a glacier. We went on a tour with Glacier Guides (our guide Robin was great!), who gave us crampons, ice axes, helmets, and safety harnesses (in case we fell down a crevasse!?), and then we hiked up a glacier. I still can’t believe I hiked up a glacier. Part of the reason I can’t believe I hiked up a glacier is because I have known issues with gravity, especially when frozen water is involved. The amazing part was, that with crampons on, walking on ice was much easier than walking on snow. Anyway, we hiked up Falljökull which is located in the Skaftafell area of Vatnajökull National Park. We completely lucked out with the weather. A storm passed to the south of us, which made for some absolutely amazing photographs, but we didn’t get any precipitation. I am not one to brag about my photography, but I got some amazing photographs. I can’t really credit my skills though because with the scenery I had, I could not shoot a bad photograph. The glacier was white with amazing blues, and the sky was gray then white then blue, ever changing with the storm.

: view of glacier pools

: Melt stream on Falljökull

: Melt stream

: Melt stream

: Glacier top

: Crevasse

: Glacier top

: View from the top

: Glacier top

: Glacier top

: View from the Falljökull glacier

: Glacier top

: Hidden pool on Falljökull

: Glacier top

: Pool

: Ice cave

: Ice cave

: Glacier top

: Falljökull’s top

: Glacier top

: Water pool

: Ice cave

: Glacier top

: Glacier top

: Glacier top

: Top the Falljökull glacier

: Crevasse

: Glacier top

: Glacier top

: Glacier top

: base of glacier

: Glacier Mice

: Glacier Mice

: Glacier Mice

: Glacier Mice

: Glacier Mice on Falljökull

: Glacier Mice

Reynisfjall and Reynisdrangur

Posted on May 19, 2014 by geek

While traveling east along the Ring Road on Day 4 in Iceland, we stopped to the west of Vik at Reynisfjall and Reynisdrangur. These are two spots right on the coast that offer spectacular views. The waves were crashing, a rainbow formed, and the view was gorgeous even without that drama. Also there are basalt columns which are just amazing.

Reynisdrangur basalt columns

Reynisdrangur beach

view of Reynisfjall from Reynisdrangur

view of Reynisdrangur from Reynisfjall

Reynisfjall beach

Reynisfjall view of rock outcrops

Reynisfjall view of bay

Rainbow to Reynisdrangur

Wave crashing at Reynisfjall

Bruarfoss

Posted on May 17, 2014 by geek

While visiting the Golden Triangle, we visited a second waterfall besides Gullfoss. Bruarfoss is a waterfall that my sister found out about through lots of researching on Iceland. It is kind of hidden, and it was not that easy to find. It is between Geysir and Þingvellir Park, just east of 355. You have to go into a summer house neighborhood to get there. You have to earn the waterfall, you might say, but it is totally worth it. The blue of the water is just beautiful.

Edited to add: Due to inquires, the following is best way I can describe how to get there. Take 37 northeast until you pass 355. Right after 355, look to your left (north), and you will see a neighborhood of summer homes. In May 2014, the first two turnoffs (i.e. closest to 355) into that summer home neighborhood had gates. The third did not. Thus after you pass 355, take the third left into the neighborhood. The roads were poorly marked in the neighborhood, but basically follow the road you took in past most of the houses to the back of the neighborhood, there was a very small turnoff to the left with enough room for about two cars to park. The turnoff was not at the end of the road, and it was not marked, but it was at the edge of a grassy area with no houses. There was short foot trail to a creek. At this location on the creek, there was a short foot bridge. My camera recorded the GPS coordinates of this foot bridge as Latitude: 64° 15′ 48.372″ N, Longitude: 20° 30′ 34.308″ W. Cross this bridge and follow the trail to a larger foot bridge that overlooks Bruarfoss whose GPS coordinates are Latitude: 64° 15′ 51.282″ N, Longitude: 20° 30′ 53.322″ W.