Geysir

Geysir- According to many dependable online sources, Iceland is one of the most volcanically active locations on the globe. They have had 30 eruptions since their settlement around the 9th century post Jesus times, and have around 200 post-glacial volcanoes. This is immediately obvious when you take the first roadway from the Keflavik airport. Volcanic fields stretch from either side of the road, giving you the sensation that you landed on mars, or the moon.

Of course all of my tourist adventures were also centered very much around the sight of different volcanic locations, given their strange beauty and peculiarity. In the middle ages many in the Catholic Church believed Iceland’s largest volcano, Hekla, to be the house of the unholy, or Hell, if you will. You Catholic Church, so silly sometimes!! I don’t believe many people were thinking they were taking a tour to visit the entrance to Hell, given that most people know the entrance is way down, down below the earth somewhere, but that doesn’t reduce the natural beauty and strangeness of volcanoes or volcanically produced landscapes.

One location we stopped at was Geysir, a hole in the ground where volcanically heated water spouts up high into the air every five or so minutes. The boiling water is channeled up towards the surface and begins to boil on its way. This water naturally turns into steam and since it is in a confined passageway, and steam takes up more volume than water, it produces an “explosion” of sorts, pushing the water above it out of the opening in the earth. Very cool.