Interior Iceland

Field trip M-1

31.8.2016

This trip will be led by geologist Olivier Bourgeois at the University of Nantes, France, and glaciologist Thorsteinn Thorsteinsson at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, Reykjavík.

This is in many ways the “classical” first trip for many visitors to Iceland, often referred to as the “Golden Circle”. The trip takes you to places that are by now becoming a bit overcrowded with tourists, but it is nevertheless strongly recommended for those who have not been here before.

The first stop will be at the Viking age parliament site at Þingvellir, the most important historical site in Iceland and a place of great geological interest as well. At Þingvellir, effects of the separation of the N-American and Eurasian tectonic plates on the Mid-Atlantic ridge can clearly be seen in the form of large rifts on both sides of a several km wide rift valley.

Next we will stop at the famous waterfall Gullfoss in the Hvítá canyons, which may have been formed in a catastrophic flood at the end of the ice age. We continue into the interior with a view towards many volcanic formations, some of them due to subglacial eruptions. A stop will be made near the summit of an ancient shield volcano, Skálpanes, formed during one of the Late Pleistocene interglacials. From the summit of Skálpanes participants will (weather allowing!) have a good view of the Langjökull and Hofsjökull ice caps in Central lceland.

Returning to the south, the group will stop at the Geysir geothermal fields, to witness eruptions in Strokkur and see the now calm Great Geysir, which gives name to all the world´s geysers. Return to Reykjavík will be along a route passing through the plate boundary where it runs through the Reykjanes peninsula.

Please note that the interior site at Skálpanes (at 800 m elevation) can only be visited in reasonably good weather conditions. Snowfall might have occurred prior to the visit up there, making bus travel impossible. If Skálpanes cannot be visited, a visit to the Hellisheiði geothermal power plant may be included in the itinerary.