Haukadalur | |
|---|---|
 View of the Haukadalur valley from Laugarfjall | |
  Location in Iceland | |
| Coordinates: 64°18′40″N20°17′2″W / 64.31111°N 20.28389°W | |
| Location | Southwestern Iceland |
| Volcanic arc/belt | West volcanic zone of Iceland |
Haukadalur (Icelandic: [ˈhœyːkaˌtaːlʏr̥] ⓘ , from Old Norse : Haukadalr [ˈhɔukɑˌdɑlz̠] , "hawk dale" or "valley of hawks") is a valley with geothermal activity in Iceland.
The shallow valley is at about 100 m (330 ft) above sea level about 110 km (68 mi) to the north-west of Reykjavík. [1] It lies to the north of Laugarvatn lake in the south of Iceland.
There is a north-south orientated geothermal area in the valley, of about 1 km (0.62 mi) in width and about 6 km (3.7 mi) long, mainly on the eastern slopes of the rhyolite dome of Laugarfjau that is 187 m (614 ft) high. [2] To the west of the valley is Bjarnarfell at 727 m (2,385 ft) which is a hyaloclastite ridge mainly composed of basalt and some rhyolite. [2] To the north is a shield volcano, Sandfell at 610 m (2,000 ft), which on the valley's horizon. [1] The volcanoes have not been active for over 10,000 years. [3]
Haukadalur is home to some of the best known sights in Iceland: the geysers and other geothermal features which have developed on the Laugarfjall [ˈlœyːɣarˌfjatl̥] rhyolitic dome. [4] The biggest geysers of Haukadalur are Strokkur and Geysir itself, which gave us the word 'geyser'. [1] Strokkur is very dependable and erupts every 4 to 10 minutes, [5] whereas the bigger Geysir nowadays erupts very rarely. [1] There are also more than 40 other smaller hot springs, mud pots and fumaroles nearby. [1] The water source for the geothermal activity may originate from the southern Langjökull ice sheet, about 50 km (31 mi) to the north. [4]
Haukadalur geothermal area was mentioned in written sources around 1294 CE, [6] when new local hot springs were activated by earthquakes, [1] but geothermal activity was present before this. [7] Earthquakes are also known to have activated local geysers in the recent past, [3] including the earthquakes that occurred on 17 and 21 July 2000. Due to the geysers the valley has been a popular tourist attraction since the 18th century. [1]
The Gullfoss waterfall is about 10 km (6.2 mi) to the north in the direction of the Highlands of Iceland, via the beginning of the Kjölur highland road. Along with Gullfoss and Þingvellir, Haukadalur is part of the Golden Circle.
A geyser is a spring with an intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam. The formation of geysers is fairly rare, and is caused by particular hydrogeological conditions that exist only in a few places on Earth.
Long Valley Caldera is a depression in eastern California that is adjacent to Mammoth Mountain. The valley is one of the Earth's largest calderas, measuring about 20 mi (32 km) long (east-west), 11 mi (18 km) wide (north-south), and up to 3,000 ft (910 m) deep.
Iceland is an island country at the confluence of the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, east of Greenland and immediately south of the Arctic Circle, atop the constructive boundary of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The island country is the world's 18th largest in area and one most sparsely populated. It is the westernmost European country when not including Greenland and has more land covered by glaciers than continental Europe. Its total size is 103,125 km2 (39,817 sq mi) and possesses an exclusive economic zone of 751,345 km2 (290,096 sq mi).
Langjökull is the second largest ice cap in Iceland, after Vatnajökull. It is situated in the west of the Icelandic interior or Highlands of Iceland and can be seen clearly from Haukadalur. It covers the higher parts of the Langjökull volcanic system.
Geysir, sometimes known as The Great Geysir, is a geyser in south-western Iceland, that geological studies suggest started forming about 1150 CE. The English word geyser derives from Geysir. The name Geysir itself is derived from the Icelandic verb geysa. Geysir lies in the Haukadalur valley on the slopes of Laugarfjall lava dome, which is also the home to Strokkur geyser about 50 metres (160 ft) to the south. The Strokkur geyser may be confused with it, and the geothermal field it is in is known usually as either, Geysir or Haukadalur.
Strokkur is a fountain-type geyser located in a geothermal area beside the Hvítá River in Iceland in the southwest part of the country, east of Reykjavík. It typically erupts every 6–10 minutes. Its usual height is 15–20 metres (49–66 ft), although it can sometimes erupt up to 40 metres (130 ft) high.
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Puyehue and Cordón Caulle are two coalesced volcanic edifices that form a major mountain massif in Puyehue National Park in the Andes of Ranco Province, in the South of Chile. In volcanology this group is known as the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle Volcanic Complex (PCCVC). Four volcanoes constitute the volcanic group or complex, the Cordillera Nevada caldera, the Pliocene Mencheca volcano, Cordón Caulle fissure vents and the Puyehue stratovolcano.
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