Geysers of Iceland. Valley of Geysers. History and practical benefits of Icelandic geysers. big geyser

I'll start, perhaps, with the fact that Iceland after the volcanic eruption strange name Eyjafjallajokull, whose dust clouded the whole of Europe, is considered almost the most dangerous place on the ground. Perhaps so, I don’t know ... but still, Iceland can rightfully be called one of the most beautiful places on earth, and I will try to prove this to you, dear readers, in a series of my articles about this. wonderful place on Earth, about the largest ice-covered island. And the first of them, as you guessed about the Geysers. The site already has a published article about the Haukadalur Valley of Geysers, but still, I will try to delve deeper into this topic and talk not about the valley itself, but, in fact, about the volcanoes themselves.

In the language of science, a geyser is a source that periodically ejects fountains. hot water and couple. Geysers are one of the manifestations of the late stages of volcanism and are common in areas of modern volcanic activity.
The name Geyser itself belongs to the same Icelanders, it comes from the word geysa, which means to gush, and the Geysir (Old Geysir), from which the name of this phenomenon came from, is nothing more than the oldest and previously most famous geyser in the world, which began have mercy on people. Now the most popular in Iceland is the world's highest flowing geyser Strokkur, which is located only a few meters from its older brother and is loved more because, unlike Geysir, which operates very rarely and can be inactive for several years, Strokkur erupts every 2-6 minutes, releasing water up to 20 meters (70 feet) into the sky, and sometimes the geyser can erupt quickly up to three times in a row.

The beginning of the appearance of geysers is traced back to 1294, when earthquakes caused significant changes in the local landscape, creating several hot springs. Changes in the activity of Geysir are to a greater extent associated with these earthquakes. In the record year of 1630, many geysers exploded so that the earth trembled around, as if a giant was walking on it.
Geysir was almost inactive until 1896, when a new earthquake forced him to again spew masses of boiling water to the surface several times a day. In 1910, Geysir actively erupted every thirty minutes, but five years later, the time between eruptions increased to 6 hours and in 1916 the eruptions almost stopped. But over time, it clogged with quartz and the eruptions practically ceased. In 2000, the next earthquake restored Geysir's activity and initially erupted eight times a day, reaching a height of only 10 meters, but closer to July 2003, the activity of the geyser subsided to three times a day. Detailed description The Great Geysir and Strokkur have been cited in every guidebook since the beginning of the 18th century. Today, these geysers are mandatory points on the route of almost every tourist, along with the Thingvellir valley and Gullfoss waterfall, entering Golden ring- popular a tourist route in southern Iceland.

Iceland- it's small Island state located in the North Atlantic Ocean. The name of the country comes from iceland - "ice country". The sights of Iceland are, first of all, its unique nature, unforgettable volcanic landscapes, picturesque lakes, rivers and waterfalls. There are also active and dormant volcanoes, geyser fields and the so-called mud volcanoes. There are over 250 separate groups of geysers in Iceland (approximately 7,000 hot springs).

Geysers, as a phenomenon, are found only in zones of volcanism and high seismic activity, where earthquakes and movements of the earth's crust often occur. There are quite a lot of seismic zones on our planet, but this does not mean at all that geysers are present in all zones. It's so unique phenomena on Earth that they can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Iceland -- the only country Europe, which has geysers. And on a global scale, except for Iceland, geysers are found only in a few countries: in Russia (in Kamchatka), in the USA (in national park Yellowstone), Chile and New Zealand.

In a calm state, a geyser is an ordinary source of water, smelling of hydrogen sulfide. At the moment of ejection, when a mass of boiling water shoots up, it seems that a bomb exploded on its surface, thus leaving an extraordinary impression on the eyewitnesses.

Most often, there are springs that form a fountain in the form of a cone. It is also not uncommon to see dome-shaped forms and even in the form of a bowl. When the geysers different types erupt at the same time - the spectacle is simply unforgettable.

Iceland is considered to be one of the most beautiful places on the ground. And in many respects this is the merit of the fairy-tale valley. Haykadalur(Haukadalur) - valleys of geysers in iceland known throughout the world. It is located in the south of the country, near active volcano Hekla, occupies an area of about 3 km 2 and goes directly to the major tourist interchange "Golden Ring". This place is constantly visited by a large number of tourists. Already in the direction of the valley, a unique sight appears - this is a white vapor, either creeping, or leveling along the ground, or breaking out upwards.

The beginning of the appearance of geysers in this region the globe accepted to be attributed to 1294 when major changes in the local landscape were caused by earthquakes. They led to the formation of several hot springs.

The most famous geyser in Iceland is Big Geyser (Great Geyser), the very first hot natural fountain discovered by people. The ancient inhabitants deified him and gave him a name Geysir, after which they began to call all similar natural phenomena in the world.

Until 1896, Geysir was practically inactive. Then another earthquake occurred, which forced him again several times a day to spew masses of boiling water onto the surface. In 1910, Geysir actively erupted every half an hour. After 5 years, the interval between its eruptions increased to 6 hours, and in 1916 it almost ceased to operate. Then he clogged with quartz, and the eruptions completely stopped. Another earthquake, which occurred in 2000, led to the resumption of activity of this huge geyser. It began to erupt 8 times a day, and the height of the water thrown up reached only 10 meters. But then the activity of the geyser eruptions decreased to 3 times a day.

Much more often this is done by another geyser called Strokkur. It throws out a column of steam and hot water to a height of 20-30 meters. This geyser erupts every 4-6 minutes, which is why it is now more popular than the Big Geyser. And sometimes Strokkur can even erupt three times in a row.

However, Geysir and Strokkur are far from all the sights of the famous valley. Here you can meet dozens of small geysers and other hot springs, among which Lake Blezi stands out - a reservoir of rare beauty and sky blueness. It is always crowded from the influx of travelers and near the two-stage Gullfoss waterfall, whose name in translation sounds like the Golden Falls. Hundreds of tons of water from the fast-flowing Khvitau River roar from the tops of the mountain range, and a myriad of splashes form a rainbow of fabulous beauty.

Excursions: The valley is located roughly in the middle of the Golden Circle, a popular tourist route in southern Iceland that starts from Reykjavik, continues through central Iceland and returns to Reykjavik. Estimated tour time is about 8 hours. iceland geyser tourist valley

How to get there: You can get to Iceland via Helsinki, Stockholm or Copenhagen. In short, the flight through Helsinki will turn out to be six hours. The Icelandic airline Icelandair has agreements with the Scandinavian airlines SAS and Finnair, thanks to which it is possible to buy through tickets for flights from Moscow or St. Petersburg.

You can also get to Iceland by ferry. The only flight connecting continental Europe and Iceland departs from the port of Hirtshals (Denmark), the journey takes just over 48 hours, arriving in the port city of Seydisfjordur.

You can get to the valley of geysers by bus. From Reykjavik there is a bus every thirty minutes to the geysers. The road runs along almost the entire perimeter of the territory. You can also hire an SUV that will quickly take you inland. The cost of renting such a car will cost two hundred euros per day.

Number of tourists: Every year Iceland becomes more and more popular and attracts a huge number of tourists from all over the world. Unprecedented influx foreign tourists recorded in 2014. Most tourists come from the UK, USA, France and Germany. During the first half of 2015, 120,000 Britons, almost 100,000 Americans, 37,000 Germans, and 26,000 French entered the country through the airport.

According to the airport, until 2011, no more than 2,000 people a year arrived from Russia, and in 2012 there were already 4,724 people, in 2013 - 6,988 people, and in 2014 - 7,964 people.

In total, in 2015, the country expected more than 1 million tourists, in the past there were 960 thousand. This is a record for the Icelanders, but they are not going to stop and plan to receive 3 million tourists annually by 2020. For a country with a population of 320 thousand people - a very good result.

It is simply impossible to visit Iceland and not get into Haukadalur. After all, this is the main attraction of the island. Iceland is a country of geysers. Such a number of puffing workers of nature, in terms of square kilometer nowhere on the planet! Yes, and the word "geyser" entered the vocabulary with the light hand of the Icelanders. The literal meaning of the term is “throw-out”, “breaking through”.

Haukadalur Valley

And geysers have a hard time breaking through. The territory of Iceland is covered with glaciers in many places. These cold ice masses occupy more than 10% of the island's area. Below them are volcanoes that constantly heat the surface. Boiling water accumulates underground, which breaks out.

Great Geysir and more

In total, there are more than 7 thousand geysers on the island. Some of them gush regularly, others "fall into hibernation" for decades. The most popular among tourists is Haukadalur - the Valley of Geysers. Iceland is proud of its main "exhibit" - the Great Geyser. A column of water and steam 60 meters high will not leave anyone indifferent!

In the last century, the Great Geysir had long periods of calm and new revivals. The geyser was surrounded by a fence and shown for money. Today this spectacle can be seen absolutely free. Too bad it's very rare. True, once a year the Great Geysir wakes up. It happens on Iceland's Independence Day, June 17th. By order of the government, the "old man" is forced to wake up.

On other days, you can walk 40 meters and admire its neighbor, the Strokkur geyser, for sure. The height of the jet will not be so high, only twenty meters, but emissions occur very often. In total, there are about 30 geysers in the valley.

The Haukadalur Valley is famous not only for its geysers. Here is the most beautiful waterfall islands - Gullfoss. It is also called the "Golden Falls". Two stone steps with flowing water "look" at each other at an angle of 90 degrees.

Beauty with benefits

Some tourists go to the Haukadalur Valley to "kill two birds with one stone": admire the stunning views and improve their health in hot springs. Local waters are saturated with useful chemical elements. The water temperature in such reservoirs is always the same - about 40 degrees.

The thermal springs of Iceland are very popular among visitors and local residents. There are specially equipped resorts in the country, but you can also find "wild" absolutely free baths.

The hot geysers of Iceland are not a toy. They burst out under a lot of pressure. Steam temperature sometimes reaches 150 degrees! For safety reasons, guides are advised to stay away from hot springs. And just in case, it is better to take a change of dry clothes with you.

There are several ways to get to the Valley of Geysers:

1. Sightseeing bus for 220 ISK. It departs from Reykjavik every half an hour according to a schedule that you can find out in advance. For this you need to call tourist centre capital or go to the site.

Geysers are a very beautiful natural phenomenon. Fountains of bubbling water soaring into the sky for several tens of meters can be observed for a very long time. Time for this activity flies by unnoticed, as the spectacle is incredibly hypnotizing! There are not many places in the world where you can admire geysers. The most famous are our native Kamchatka, the Yellow Stone reserve in America and the actual valley of geysers Haukadalur (Haukadalur) in Iceland, which we visited while in this incredible country!

The Golden Circle is Iceland's most popular attractions located in the immediate vicinity of Reykjavik. IN excursion route ascend: Gullfoss waterfall (Gyudfoss (Gullfoss) or "Golden Falls" and d oline of geysers Haukadalur (Hoykadalur (Haukadalur)). These three places are popular, both due to their convenient location relative to the capital of Iceland, and due to their primeval beauty!

As soon as people began to increase in the Thingvelir National Park, we decided that it was time to continue on our way. In addition, the route for the day was very busy and there was no time to linger. next place according to the plan, there was a valley of geysers Haukadalur. We reached it in 40-50 minutes, all this time we were looking out the windows at the beautiful Icelandic expanses with our mouths open!

Near the valley there is a parking lot with a shop and a cafe. And there were already people here, quite a lot but not too much yet. We parked and went to see the miracle of nature!
Already on the way to the main geyser, it is clear that this valley is volcanically active! There is a boiling river and many streams and puddles with bubbling water! Steam rises from all sides.
Everywhere there are signs warning that the water is very hot!

The first on the way is a geyser from which the name of all boiling fountains gushing out of the ground - Geysir, is also called the Big or even the Great Geyser.

Alas, now it is a dormant geyser. Wikipedia talks about volcanic activity that changed the landscape, which is why the fountain beat less and less from the bowels of the earth, and then stopped altogether.

Another version is that curious tourists threw coins and small stones at Geysir... Specially for such smart people, there are now signs near the geysers that it is forbidden to throw anything into the water!

But there is one day when one hundred percent can see how a sixty-meter fountain soars into the sky, this is the National Day of Iceland. Geologists pour the soap mixture into the geyser and it delights visitors with its powerful eruption! On other days it looks like a large and deep puddle.

There is also a small one not far from the Big Geyser.

Small but powerful!

Well, Geysir's brother, the Strokkur geyser, has already gathered a lot of observers. Everyone is looking forward to when the show starts! The main thing in photography is not to lower the camera to the last and press the button in time!

Strokkur. Golden Ring of Iceland

While the geyser is gaining power between the release of fountains, the water in its reservoir now and then begins to boil and rises into a water bubble. It turns out beautifully.

Everyone is watching his activities with bated breath and trying to catch the moment when he finally bangs in order to take better shots!

And when it seems that just about, now the geyser will explode and show its power, it suddenly calms down. One gets the impression that he is teasing slow-tempered tourists.
And here the main thing is to be patient. We stuck around Strokkur for quite a long time, it was not easy to catch a fountain of good height and film its eruption from beginning to end!
But when it finally succeeds, there is no limit to joy! On the video at the end, there is a fountain that we managed to shoot!
And in order to cover the whole scale of the valley and the beating geyser, we walked along the smoking hills around.

Iceland is considered one of the most beautiful countries peace. This island is located in Atlantic Ocean, near the Arctic Circle. Iceland is fabulously beautiful, although its nature is quite ascetic. It is a country of glaciers, volcanoes, hot springs and geysers.

The capital of Iceland is Reykjavik. The population of the country is about 290 thousand people, the population density is the lowest in Europe. The country has a subarctic maritime climate that is greatly moderated by the warm current of the Gulf Stream. Thanks to its waters, the air warms up, which makes the climate warmer. State language country is Icelandic, which is one of the oldest languages in Europe.

The ancient inhabitants of Iceland were pagans, and since the 17th century Lutheranism, which is one of the varieties of Protestantism, has been established here.

Icelandic landscapes are unique. Once three-quarters of the island was covered with forests, and now it is less than one hundredth. The first settlers are to blame for this. They burned patches of forest when their fields were depleted and used them for crops. Gradually, forests disappeared on the island, and one very serious problem appeared - soil erosion.

Valley of Geysers

One hundred km. from the capital of Iceland is the valley of geysers Haukadalur, which is known throughout the world. This place attracts a huge number of tourists. Already on the way to the valley, a unique spectacle opens before the eyes of the traveler - white steam, which either spreads along the ground, or breaks out. By the way, it is thanks to this spectacle that the capital of Iceland got its name. The fact is that in 871, the Norwegian navigator Ingolfur Arnarson landed on the shores of the island. He decided to call this place Reykjavik, which means "Smoking Harbor".

The most famous geyser in Iceland is the Great Geyser.. The ancient inhabitants deified him and gave him the name Geysir, after which they began to call all such natural phenomena in the world.

It must be said that by now this geyser has already managed to lose its former strength, now it breaks through to the surface not so often.

Much more often this is done by another geyser called Strokkur, which can be translated from Icelandic as "Oil Tub". It throws a column of steam and hot water to a height of 20-30 meters. This geyser erupts every 2-6 minutes, so it is now more popular than Geysir. And sometimes Strokkur can even erupt three times in a row. The water in the streams flowing from this geyser smells like sulfur.

However, these two giants are not the only geysers here. There are many small geysers in the valley, some of which throw fountains of hot water to a very small height, others simply spray water, and some look more like seething and bubbling puddles.

However, one should not think that they do not pose any danger to people. You should not come close to the edge, because if you fall into the geyser, you can boil yourself alive. This sometimes happens to careless horses, cows and other livestock. Instead, you can go to bathing places where the hot geyser water is still not so hot.

If we consider geysers from a scientific point of view, they are found only in those places where there are volcanoes and are one of the manifestations of volcanic activity. The territory of Iceland has a high volcanic activity. When the geyser is at rest, its basin is filled with light blue water, smelling of hydrogen sulfide.

History of Icelandic geysers

Since the beginning of the 18th century, detailed descriptions of the Great Geysir and Strokkur could be found in every guidebook. Nowadays, these geysers have long been the most popular attractions in Iceland.

The beginning of the appearance of geysers in this region of the globe is usually attributed to 1294, when earthquakes caused serious changes in the local landscape. They led to the formation of several hot springs. With these earthquakes, experts associate the changes that have occurred in the activity of Geysir.

Exploded in 1630 a large number of geysers, which caused a very loud noise and trembling of the earth.

Practical benefits of geysers

It should be noted that Iceland's geysers are not only tourist attraction. Local geothermal springs represent the main natural wealth countries. At their expense, a huge number of houses are heated, in which about 85% of Icelanders live. This allows them not to use oil products, which is of great benefit not only to the environment, but also to the country's budget.

Steam and boiling water from the bowels of the earth come to the capital through pipes. They are sent to special heat exchangers, where the heat passes into ordinary tap water, which is supplied to the houses.

Underground heat also allows heating numerous Icelandic greenhouses. They grow the most exotic flowers and fruits, which are completely uncharacteristic of these places.

Some greenhouses are parks. One of these parks, where tropical plants, is called "Eden". Residents of the capital come here to take a walk among the greenery and breathe in the warm southern air. There is no greenery outside the greenhouse even in summer. Iceland is almost completely treeless.

Other sights of the country

In addition to geysers, there are other natural attractions in the country. Iceland has a very large number of waterfalls. There are several hundred of them here.

The Thingvellir Valley and Gullfoss Falls are part of the Golden Ring- a popular tourist route in the southern part of the country. As mentioned above, Iceland is northern country with a harsh climate. There are only three here sunny days in a year. But when the sun is up, you can admire a magnificent sight over the Goldfoss (Golden Falls) waterfall - the golden threads of the rainbow.

Iceland also has permanent glaciers. Huge glaciers can be seen in the central part of the country. These glaciers feed mountain rivers countries. Icelandic glaciers are hundreds of thousands of years old.

Huge pieces of ice break off from the glacier, which form icebergs. Although they are not as large as the icebergs of Antarctica or Greenland, their size is still huge. Volcanoes make the earth so hot in some places that you can even bake bread in it. To do this, you just need to bury a form with dough in the ground for a couple of hours.