Bucket List Check #24 - Visiting Iceland's Geysers - Strokkur

Iceland sits right on the continental divide between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. So it's little wonder that volcanoes abound on this interesting land. According to www.hurtigruten.com, Iceland is home to 130 volcanoes, with one erupting at least once every five years! Many of these volcanoes sit underneath ice glaciers, and when they erupt, these subglacial eruptions, form "glacial floods" which are the mixture of hot magna and melted ice. Thus Iceland is truly the land of fire and ice!

Given the abundant volcanic activity on Iceland, you don't have to travel far outside Reykjavik to see some activity. We did a tour visiting Strokkur, one of Iceland's most visited active geysers. Located in the Haukadalur Valley, Strokkur sits on the second largest glacier in the country, Langjökull, which provides the necessary water source for its frequent eruptions, blasting water to heights of around fifteen to twenty metres every five to ten minutes.



These type of geysers are rare because they require three things - hot magma, a nearby water source, and the soil in the vents to be lined with silica, all of which Strokkur has.

Since I had seen this geyser prior to visiting Yellowstone National Park, I thought it was a pretty cool. But if you have been Yellowstone and witnessed Old Faithful (which has a larger eruption) as well as many of the other surrounding geysers, you might be a little disappointed. Strokkur is very similar to several Yellowstone geysers, but I think pales in comparison to the incredible size and scope of Yellowstone's volcanic activity.




Is Iceland next on your bucket list?