Þingvellir

After our tour around Reykjavik Sigga suggested we take the short drive to Þingvellir, the most popular tourist destination in Iceland. It is home to Iceland's largest natural lake, Þingvallavatn, the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and the site where the Alþingi was established in 930CE.

We first stopped off and browsed the visitors center and then walked up to the viewing platform to overlook the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Here you can see where the North American Plate and European Plate are drifting apart. We took in the scenery for a few minutes and were back in the car.

Our next stop was Öxarárfoss. This waterfall is along the river Öxará which empties into the lake. A short walk through a canyon surrounded by igneous rock brings you to the base of the falls.

We had still time before my final flight, so we made one last stop in Þingvellir, the Flosagjá fault. The Flosagjá fissure is filled with cold, very clear water and is a popular SCUBA diving destination. The water in the fissure is all glacial runoff that takes 50 - 100 years to reach the lake. One end of the fissure has a bridge that crosses over where people have tossed thousands of coins since its construction in 1907. Looking at the map below you can find Nikulásargjá in the upper middle, where the bridge is. We walked from the bridge to the end of  Spöngin and back. Spöngin is the long spit of lava separating the branches of the Flosagjá fault. In the 18th and much of the 19th century, people identified this with the Law Rock from the early days of the Alþing.