Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Iceland March 2012


The geography of Iceland is absolutely amazing. Iceland’s interior is uninhabited; it is covered with glaciers, mountains and high plateaus which makes the support of any life impossible. Iceland is about the size of Ohio and populated by 293,577 people or 3 people per square mile.  Reykjavik is the capital and home for 80% of Icelanders.
Fishing and fish processing, aluminum smelting and tourism are the main economic activities in Iceland. 




During winter, pavements near Reykjavk and Akureyri are heated by geothermal steam.



Favorite Icelandic fast foods are the bacon wrapped lamb hot dog and lamb soup. The kronur, Iceland money, comes in 1, 5, 10, 50 and 
100 bills amounts along with numerous coins.




Great view of Reykjavik from this 12 story Lutheran Church. Below, typical apartments in the city.







The Icelandic breed of horses are treasured for their intelligence, strength and ability to learn five different kinds of gait. 




The oldest geysers have been active 10,000 years. The largest geyser erupts to heights of 70 feet every 4 minutes. 





Fault line between the North American and Eurasian. 



Beauty at every turn in Iceland! 






Blue Lagoon




Situated in the middle of a large lava field and created by geothermal sea water mixed with a high level of silica. The Blue Lagoon is one of the most visited attractions in Iceland. The water temperature is 92-104 F.



Glacier Hike      

Myrdalsjokull is the fourth largest glacier in Iceland and is located about 96miles southeast of Reykjavik. It rests on the very active volcano, Heka, which powerfully erupted in 1918.  Travelers on the glacier are warned to be extremely careful about crevasses. The blue ice formations are breath taking.









Northern Lights
The northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, are a spectacle of colors that seem to dance across the arctic sky on clear Icelandic nights. Thousands of solar particle collisions occurring high up in the atmosphere, producing different colors depending on altitude. The result is a breathtaking, once in a lifetime experience.




                      
 View from the plane on the way home.



Final words... if you can read them!