Tag Archives: Þingvellir

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.

Iceland Photos

Laurie says:

Here are some more of my “snapshots” from Iceland.

The first 2 photos were taken at Þingvellir. I was walking on the rift valley and seeing the continental drift.  It’s a remarkable feeling to be between the plates. Seeing the rifts and deep crevasses has a surreal quality.

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It is the site of a rift valley that marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It is also home to Þingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland. (The language is closely related to old Norse and has it’s own letters and symbols.) I worked really hard to prononce names properly and often failed.

The continental drift between the North American and Eurasian Plates can be clearly seen in the cracks or faults which traverse the region, the biggest one, Almannagjá, being a veritable canyon. This also causes the often-measurable earthquakes in the area.. This also causes the often-measurable earthquakes in the area.

It was the meeting place for the Icelandic parliament for hundreds of years starting in 930 AD.

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Öxarárfoss is a waterfall in Þingvellir National Park, Iceland. It flows from the river Öxará. The base of the waterfall is filled with rocks. The sound of the water on the rocks and it’s spray fills the air.

This is Hallgrímskirkja a magnificent church in Reykjavík that was built between between 1938 and 1975. ( It’s 244′ high. ) It was designed to resemble the lava flows in Iceland’s landscape.

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Serendipitously, my hotel was very close and the cathedral loomed above me every time I went out. And it became a landmark for home wherever I was in Reykjavík, as it sits on the tallest hill

Reviewing the photos are filling my eyes with Iceland again.