Day 8
Today we spent the whole day around Lake Mývatn. The name is derived from the name of small flies which occur here and attack all living things in great droves. Fortunately, they like warmth and no wind, so in the local weather most of the day they are at peace. The lake has an area of 37 km2 and was formed 2300 years ago during a large eruption of basaltic lava. The lake and its surroundings are located in a large volcanic zone driven by the Atlantic Rift which intersects the surrounding landscape. Traces of volcanic activity are everywhere. There are also thermal baths similar to the Blue Lagoon near Reykjavik. We tried them and it was a pleasant experience. The dominant feature towering over the lake is the huge caldera of the sleeping volcano Hvefjall.
We started our round trip around the lake by visiting Höfði Park on the southern shore of the lake. The park is artificially forested and it is a pleasant contrast to the surrounding landscape which has the character of the northern tundra.
There is a beautiful view of the whole lake.
An interesting attraction are lava conduits.
Lava penetrated from the magma chamber through these conduits to the surface (2300 years before).
There are volcanic pseudo-craters on the lakeshore. They were formed by thermal explosions when the water from the lake got into the fissures with fresh lava.
To the east of the lake is a large lava field Dimmuborgir. It illustrates the vast extent of volcanic activity in the region.
Lava conduits create bizarre shapes.
Some of the scenery was used in the filming of Game of Thrones.
Our old famous Atlantic ridge appears again in a short distance from Dimmuborgir. Here it is well visible how the edges of the crack fit together.
A small cave Grjótagjá with a thermal lake and azure water is situated below the crack.
The crack above the cave is only about 2 meters wide. But further on the ridge tore the mountain into two parts. Behind the hills is the volcanic zone of Krafla volcano.
You can see Krafla peak in the background of the Viti crater. The volcano is seemingly inactive. The largest eruption from this crater took place in the 18th century.
However, hundreds of cracks in a total length of more than 10 km opened in the wider vicinity of the volcanic caldera (which has a diameter of about 30 km), Fresh lava flowed from these fissures in the period of years 1975-1986.
This volcanic period confirmed that estimates of the size of the magmatic chamber were underestimated. This series of eruptions provoked an even greater effort to determine the movement, volume, shape and depth of the magmatic chamber, Despite modern monitoring methods, it happened that during the research drilling in the geothermal area lava penetrated the probe where its occurrence was not expected.
There are boreholes on the slopes of the volcano that capture and drain hot water to the geothermal power plant.
The highest temperature in some wells reaches up to 350 ° C.
The power plant capacity is 60 MW.
And one more small practical use of thermal water - eternal hot shower.
The surroundings of the volcano are beautiful and at the same time dramatically exceptional.
The lakeshore is just beautiful.
And at the end of the day, ascent to the Hverfjall crater.
The height difference of 140 m provides a beautiful view of the surrounding countryside.
Again scenery like from another planet.
Here is the crater itself. Diameter more than 1000 m.
Detailed view of the crater conus.