Bubbling Mud, Raging Water, Lava Canyon

Leaving Lake Mývatn, we headed out to see a nearby lava cave, Grjótagjá, with a geothermal spring. Until the 1970s Grjótagjá was a popular soaking site. But during eruptions from 1975 to 1984 the temperature of the water rose to unsafe levels.

Next down the road is Hverir geothermal area. It’s a mini-Yellowstone, minus the geysers. Then it was on to Dettifoss waterfall, the most powerful—by water volume—in Iceland. It is impressive, although with the gray skies and the gray color of the water because of all the volcanic debris it must be carrying, we liked Goðafoss better. The Selfoss waterfall is within walking distance of Dettifoss, so we did get the two for one stop deal.

In the afternoon, we arrived at Asbrygi Canyon, where we planned a couple of hikes. Despite the rain, we checked out the lake at the canyon floor, then took a longer hike on top of a kind of island in the middle of the canyon (see our aerial photo from the web). By then, the rain had ended, so we had a nice view around us. It is presumed that this canyon formed from a massive glacial flood that quickly swept away much of the landscape in a river pattern—hence the “island” left where the flow split.Lue lisää