[Geysers] Iceland visit.

[Eric Hatfield]

I visited Iceland in 1997.  During that time, Strokkur's activity was similar to now, with frequent eruptions of widely differing intensity.  10 foot blooshes versus multiburst 100+ ft. rockets.  It's a constantly active Spa Geyser on steroids.

Geysir had been inactive for decades at that time.  I've also heard of more recent activity, but can't comment on the current state of affairs.

Elsewhere, consider Iceland a landmass about the size of Indiana, with very limited roads and very rough terrain.  So, it's big and sparse, and covering distances isn't easy.  Consider a 4 wheel drive, and don't think you're going to cover great distances unless you have >2 weeks.  

The SW corner of the country includes a lot of interesting sites, included Reykjavik, where you'll almost certainly start out.  Many great waterfalls, most notably Gullfoss, and other historical and natural sites like the Althing, the Midatlantic rift, lots of coastal cliffs and glaciers, are also to be found in addition to the Haukadalur (Geysir) geyser area, which is quite small by YNP standards.  The other geyser areas, beyond the Blue Lagoon (which is a geothermal plant/giant hot tub rather than a geyser area), are remote and probably out of reach in a typical tourist excursion.


________________________________
From: Tara Cross <fanandmortar at hotmail.com>
To: geysers at lists.wallawalla.edu
Sent: Tuesday, November 1, 2011 3:33 PM
Subject: Re: [Geysers] Strokkur Streaming Cam


 
Dave Monteith and I visited Iceland in late August.  Unfortunately I don't have much information about Geysir, other than it was sitting a couple of feet below overflow with very calm water.  I did not get a chance to ask around in the area to see if it was erupting at all.  If you have time, you might be able to track down someone with information.

Meanwhile, Strokkur was erupting about every 3-4 minutes except when it had multiple bursts; each extra burst added 3-4 minutes to the succeeding interval.  I saw up to 4 bursts.

There is a group of thermal features between Strokkur and the entrance across from the gift shop.  Among them are several perpetual spouters, and probably some geysers although I saw only one feature that was truly periodic.  That feature was best viewed from along the fence to the west (I think) of the thermal area.  It's uphill and to the left of the thermal feature that has a metal cylinder around it (that feature has occasional visible bursts also).  It was erupting frequently from what looked like 2 vents to 2-3 feet.  I got mostly 2-3 minute intervals for it.

If you are planning on visiting other thermal areas, we got some excellent information (including maps) from Alan Glennon from his studies in 2003.  We can tell you a little about Hveravellir if you're planning to go there.

--Tara Cross
fanandmortar at hotmail.com




________________________________
From: NKrahn at atb.com
To: geysers at lists.wallawalla.edu
Date: Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:32:35 +0000
Subject: Re: [Geysers] Strokkur Streaming Cam

 
Thank you for  this Pat – although I can’t seem to get the web cam to work today.  Is there any trick to it?
 
I am actually planning a trip to Iceland and wondering if anybody has reliable information about Geysir.  There is conflicting information on the internet.  Some reports that Geysir is active and erupting on about a 10 hour interval – other reports that it is inactive.  Does anybody know?  Also, if anybody has visited – what are the other “must see” geo-thermal features (aside from Strokkur). Thanks for the help. 
 
Norm Krahn
Edmonton, Alberta 
 
From:geysers-bounces at lists.wallawalla.edu [mailto:geysers-bounces at lists.wallawalla.edu] On Behalf Of Pat Snyder
Sent: Friday, October 28, 2011 6:22 AM
To: Geyser List reports
Subject: [Geysers] Strokkur Streaming Cam
 
For those perusing geysertimes.org, you may have noticed there are times posted for Strokkur in Iceland. Those times are from a streaming camera placed on the hill above Strokkur. Strokkur is a lot of fun to watch, it has majors and minors and sometimes additional bursts, and later in the evening, you can even see the famous (though not natural) blue bubble. On occasion there's heavy boiling in the pool next door, too. Be aware of the time difference: right now the scene is visible in the morning hours.
 
Here's the link to the Strokkur webcam. It also has links to the Guilfoss waterfall, the unpronounceable volcano that was recently active, the Blue Lagoon and other tourist sites in Iceland. Be careful, though! It makes you want to go there. I do, badly!
Míla í beinni - Geysir
 
Enjoy!
Patricia Kay Snyder (full name, ha ha)
 
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