Now
'Strukkur' has taken over the 'eruption-show'.
The
old 'geyser' crater, still steaming, but no eruptions any longer.
A
small hot pond, bubbling and boiling, but no eruptions.
It's called 'Little geyser'.
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Where the continental
plates meet under the oceans, a 70.000 km long undersee
mountainrange raise to about 2-4.000 m
above the bottom.
On the outmost part of Reykjanes, southwestern
Iceland, (arrow on the map to the right) the plates
are drifting away from each other, and such have made a rift
across all Iceland. These are the
american and the eurasian continental plates.
And along this rift, the volcanoes grows like
potatoes, as Eldey (Isle of Fire) which can be
seen in the background on the picture
below (illustrated) and which today is a solid
rock, the remainings of n earlier volcano, which
came up from the bottom of the ocean just like Surtsey,
which however lies above the other rift crossing further east.
(Picture at bottom).
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According to the text in the information below, the plates
drift apart with a speed of about 2 centimeters a year, so
when you stand by the sign, which is on the american plate,
so you move
about 1 cm a year. |
Several earthquakes each year is what they get
here because of the plates drifting apart, and that
has for hundreds of years, and will in the future, change
the Iceland geography.
Just a few year ago a larger earthquake part of the second
rift further east, which made the world famous geyser to stop
erupting every 5th minute
with a up to 60 m high water- and steam-column.
A neighboring 'geyser', the Strukkur, has taken over, but
is not having the same power.
(Picture on top)
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Look for more about Reykjanes
here
Look for more about Surtsey
here.
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