Tag Archives: Iceland

Iceland Photos 4: Nesjavellir Geothermal PowerStation

Laurie says:

These photos are of Nesjavellir, the second largest geothermal plant in Iceland.   I went by it on the way to Þingvellir. The gate was open so I went in and explored. The photos were taken in the pouring rain – the very local pouring rain. It seemed to be only directly overhead.
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It turned out that you were not supposed to go past the facility gate. There was a small sign in Icelandic, but it had no “do not enter” symbols so, not surprisingly, it was missed. I felt extremely lucky to have seen the plant close up. It’s stunning in an industrial way, in a setting of an empty plain.

I looked at these last week and couldn’t find the images I wanted. I thought I was finished with the Iceland photos, but tonight it was easy.
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It really was fabulous being there, even in the pouring rain. Next week’s photos will really be of Estonia.

Iceland Photos 3

Laurie says:

These are some more of my Iceland “snap shots”. They are rapidly turning into “memory pictures”, giving me flashbacks of the time and places.

This is one of the “steps” of Gullfoss.
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It’s one of Iceland’s many beautiful waterfalls. It’s the very famous one that draws bus loads tourists. It is magnificent, but it truly is one among many incredible falls.

The wide Hvítá rushes southward. About a kilometer above the falls it turns sharply to the right and flows down into a wide curved three-step “staircase” and then abruptly plunges in two stages (11 m and 21 m) into a crevice 32 m (105 ft) deep. The crevice, about 20 m (60 ft) wide, and 2.5 km in length, extends perpendicular to the flow of the river. The average amount of water running over this waterfall is 140 m³/s in the summertime and 80 m³/s in the wintertime. The highest flood measured was 2000 m³/s.
 – Wikipedia
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This another late night sky in Reykjavik. I spent a lot of time hanging out the window at night. filling my eyes.

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These are lava mounds and ridges, formed by the crest of the Mid-Atlantic ridge. They were shot from a path in Þingvellir. The Icelandic Parliament or Alþingi began there in 930 and remained there until 1798. The rift valley is striking in the contrasts between the huge ridges, sculpted mounds and the delicate vegetation.

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As I reread this I see that I am using words like magnificent, incredible, beautiful, and striking. They are all understatements.

Next photo blog will be images from Estonia.