Geyser and Geysir

So this was a language learning for me today. Geyser is the English noun for a hot spring in which water intermittently boils, sending a column of water and steam into the air. Geysir on the other hand is where it all began and is the name of the individual hot spring that was the first know to Europeans. The name is derived from the Icelandic verb geysa, which means to gush.

Geysir is currently dormant with its' last active period in 2000, correlating with earthquake activity. There was however Strokkur (Stro-k-kur) a geyser which erupts about every 5-10 minutes to a height of 25-30 meters. As we stood waiting for the eruption we watched the pool of hot water swirl with convection curents before the water seemed to be simmering on the top with fine bubbles appearing and clouds of steam rising from the surface. The water seems to retract to the centre of the pool before the colour changes from blue grey to turquoise as a giant bubble of steam rises to the surface and erupts skyward.

We wandered around the rest of the park, looking at the other hot spings with there amazingly crystal clear water. The photos don't do it justice because of the continual plumes of steam rising. The landscape was dotted with pockets of steam coming from the earth. It was NOT the place stray from the path! Having been to the thermal parks in New Zealand there were two things I noticed; firstly the smell of sulphur was no where near as strong as NZ and it didn't stain my clothes! Secondly there wasn't anything to say that the springs were acidic, which probably has something to do with the minerals in the soil.Read more