Continuing on our Golden Circle route, we came to the cluster of geysers in the Haukadalur geothermal valley. The largest geyser there, the first geyser anywhere ever documented in writing, has given its name to this type of feature on the planet, as geysers, the anglicized version of 'geysir'. Yellowstone in the U.S. and the Whakarewarewa valley in New Zealand are the other two places in the world where you can see geysers.
This is not the Great Geysir, which erupts infrequently, but the nearby 'Strokkur' which erupts at fairly short intervals. It starts out as a huge blue bubble of hot water emerging from the ground.
The bubble then bursts and the geyser erupts. You have to stand and watch a few times to be ready for the sequence of photographs.
Finally it blows 20-30 metres into the air, a quite spectacular sight to watch.
Moving on we finally came to Gulfoss Falls. This view shows the entire double waterfalls, with two bedrock ledges at quite different angles, over which the water drops, into a deep gorge below. This view, obviously taken by drone, shows both falls, along with the path leading to the observation point. Can you see the tiny people standing under the rainbow in the upper left?
As is typical in Iceland, there is no protective railing, the path just ends on the bedrock by the lip of the falls. We got there successfully, but we didn't go too close to the edge! This is the largest waterfall by volume in Europe and reminded me very much of Niagara Falls. Try and imagine standing at the edge of that rock with the roar of the water in your ears and the spray in the air!
This view shows the lower falls and the canyon below it, as close as I could find to the actual view we had. Unfortunately I've misplaced my own photos of these two places, so I give credit to the Internet for all of these pictures. Both spectacular places!
You get a big WOW for sharing these here. I'm glad to see new and amazing feats of nature!
ReplyDeleteIncredible landscape! Thank you for sharing. That third photo is special!
ReplyDeleteWow and double wow! What a gorgeous place and spectacular geyser. :-)
ReplyDeleteGod how terrifying! I do like a sturdy fence. Nice photos though and thank you x
ReplyDeleteThose waterfalls are incredible.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing! What a gorgeous place!
ReplyDeleteWow, what a waterfall!! That's a truly spectacular spot -- and without rails. Makes you wonder how many people have taken one step too many.
ReplyDeleteWOW spectacular photos!!! The water is so blue in the geysers and that falls is amazing!!
ReplyDeleteHow cool that you got to visit Iceland and see these amazing sights!
ReplyDeleteI would love to visit Iceland some day. Yellowstone is an amazing place to see geothermal activity. - Margy
ReplyDeleteI like the third pic with the 'pool' in the foreground and the geyser in the back. It shows to setting so well, and that 'pool' and its colour are really really nice to see.
ReplyDeleteIt's an amazing place. I've only seen photos, but watched a movie based there.
ReplyDeleteI'm having computer issues. Well connectivity issues. It's slower than molasses in January! hah!
Keeping the people in the photo adds the powerful perspective needed to truly appreciate such power in mother nature. I am surprised that people can stand so close to the eruption.
ReplyDeleteThe only geysers this geezer has seen were in Yellowstone back in 1992. Like you, I wouldn't be one of the people standing too close to the edge either. I like those colorful waterfalls.
ReplyDeleteWhat awesome pictures!! the geysers are so beautiful. The third photo reminds me of the geode rocks we've been looking at today. You might think that weird, but other than the ones we saw that were purple inside instead of teal, very similar. :)
ReplyDeleteThe blue of the geyser bubble is incredible! The falls are something else too. You couldn't catch me out on the ledge - I'd have to crawl out and back I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteNice blue geyser and the blast!! WOW! Glad you made it safely to see the water falls away from the ledge. It reminds me of photos of Niagra falls! Lovely rainbow! God bless!
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