Blast from the Past: Thorsmork

Thorsmork (which means "Thor's Forest in Icelandic) is a beautiful nature preserve in the south of Iceland. It is also very secluded, due to the fact that it is surrounded by mountains, glaciers, and rivers. In fact, the only way to reach the park is by a special all-terrain bus!

These photos chronicle the climb we made up the mountain Valanukur. The going was steep, but fun was had by all. When we reached the top, we actually had to shed our coats because we were burning up (no mean feat when the average temperature was somewhere between 55 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit, or 13 to 16 degrees Celsius!) The river below is called Krossá (KROES-ow) which means "Cross River". This river is fed by glaciers, and the streambed changes so much that no permanent bridges can be built!

And here we are at the top of Valanukur! (Stitch is being held in place by my classmate Sarah, as there is a long, steep drop just behind them!) We had a lecture about cataclysmic volcanoes here, then we wound our way back down to explore the riverbed.

Blast from the Past: Soloheimajokull

Sorry today's entry is a bit late! The Labor Day festivities here in America kind of put me behind. :)

Sólheimajökull (Soh-loh-HAME-a-JOH-kult) is a glacier that we visited during our trip to Iceland. This glacier is part of the larger Mýrdalsjökull ice cap. I'd always thought that glaciers would end in a mile-high wall of ice, like the one that covered much of the American Midwest at the end of the last Ice Age, but I was mistaken. Sólheimajökull is a retreating outlet glacier, which means that it is melting. As we approached the glacier, we could see the moraines that marked where the glacier had once stood in the past. Another thing we found was quicksand! Luckily, the worst that happened was that Yours Truly got mud in her boots when she fell in, though a few other students found some quicksand as well.

If you want to learn more about glaciers, check out this fun program that allows you to play with different climates to create or melt a glacier!

Blast from the Past: A Geothermal Energy Plant!

I thought it was awfully brave of me to sit on a drill for this photo. Why a drill you ask? I'm at the Orkuveita-Reykjavikur Geothermal Energy Plant! The plant was established in 1987, but didn't start providing hot water to Reykjavik until 1990, and electricity in 1998. This drill is one of several that the company uses to drill into the rock where there are energy hotspots.

Geothermal energy provides Iceland with most of its power. It is used for everything from producing electricity to de-icing roads to heating swimming pools! There are many swimming pools in Iceland, and one of our most bizarre experiences was swimming in a comfortable 80-degree swimming pool while it snowed around us! The Blue Lagoon, one of Iceland's most famous resorts, was created when a geothermal plant closed down.

Blast from the Past: Thingvellir

Today's flashback looks at Thingvellir National Park. This park is absolutely gorgeous, and it's huge! There's many reasons why it's one of the most famous sites in Iceland. In this photo, you can see both the North American and Eurasian plates. This is the only place in the world you can see a plate boundary- all the others are underwater!



The rocks in and around Thingvellir are volcanic basalt. Due to the way that basalt cools, it often forms these honeycomb-shaped columns. Basalt is the most common rock on Earth! The waterfall here has a story behind it; according to the stories, early Icelanders took it upon themselves to change the coarse of the stream and actually created this waterfall. There is actually some archaeological evidence that suggests this may be true!