Iceland's Blue Lagoon

When people heard 
that my husband and I were traveling to Iceland,
they would invariably ask,
"Are you going to the Blue Lagoon?"

The Blue Lagoon, Iceland

Aurora, Paris, London, and Reykjavik,
the question was the same,
"You are going to the Blue Lagoon, aren't you?"

Lagoon Waters Lapping Against Pahoehoe Lava

At first I was perplexed, 
because I couldn't remember any Blue Lagoon
from when I had studied Iceland's geology
back in my Early Precambrian.

Yours Truly at the Blue Lagoon

And then I thought maybe I shouldn't go

with all the hype I was hearing ~

It was probably some expensive tourist trap.

But then I remembered that story 

in my grade two reader

about the Icelandic family that went for a picnic

and boiled eggs in a hot spring for lunch.

That second grade moment ~ 

in my one room school 

surrounded by autumn pastures  

in staid Alymer, Ontario ~

when I realized 

that water hot enough to cook eggs

could bubble out of the Earth!

I swore then I would go to mysterious Iceland

to see such a thing.

Maybe even cook a hard-boiled egg.

 The Ever-Patient Terry explores an alien landscape.

I couldn't deny my seven year old self.

I had to go to the Blue Lagoon.

Getting there is easy.

Buses and tour operators converge on the Blue Lagoon,

funneling through the Keflavik and Reykjavik roads

to lava-lined Route 43

to deliver people from all over the world.

Source:  donsnotes

Heading for the Blue Lagoon

Along Route 43 to Grindavik

 

The E-P checks a map on the walk to the Blue Lagoon.

Now endless vistas of lava might sound boring to some people,

but not if you understand the story behind them

(and, maybe, are passionate about rocks like I am!)

In a controversial nutshell ~ 

Iceland exists because the linear Mid-Atlantic Ridge

and the circular Iceland Hotspot interact.

Hot mantle material upwells in the ridge,

and a hotspot powered by a mantle plume

lifts the MAR above the surface of the ocean

to form the island of Iceland.

Source:  wikimedia 

See those fat purple lines in the map above?

Iceland is literally ripping apart

along those lines or rift zones 

where the spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge 

is driving the North American and Eurasian plates apart.

Just below you'll see Terry walking 

along the edge of the North American Plate

at Thingvellir, an excellent place to see it.

Thingvellir (Þingvellir) also happens to be the site

where an independent Iceland's Althing (Alþingi)

or Parliament met for over 800 years. 

The Ever-Patient Terry

The edge of the North American Plate is on the right side of the photo.

And here am I touching 

the edge of the North American Plate.

Need I say this was a wildly important Bucket Item?

Yes!!!!!

All this tectonic activity makes Iceland

one of the most geologically active places in the world.

And it is this activity

that makes a place like the Blue Lagoon possible.

The Blue Lagoon

Wikipedia

The Blue Lagoon is actually a man-made feature.

Svartsengi, a heat and electric power plant 

adjacent to the Blue Lagoon, 

taps geothermal energy to run its turbines

and provide heat for Icelandic homes.

Svartsengi draws a super-heated, mineral-rich fluid

comprised of seawater and groundwater

from wells drilled a mile or more (up to 2,000 meters)

into the geothermal reservoir.

This water has been heated 

to 392-464ºF or 200-240ºC 

by contact with cooling magma.

The hot fluid runs turbines to produce electricity

and then goes through a heat exchanger

to provide heat for homes.

From the beginning of Svartsengi's operation, 

the waste geothermal fluid was released 

into the surrounding landscape of porous lava flows.

Minerals in the geothermal fluid 

formed a white silica mud that gummed up 

the pores in the lava and formed impermeable layers

allowing the waters to accumulate in ponds.

It didn't take Icelanders too long

to discover that the lovely, warm, milky blue ponds

helped heal psoriasis patients,

and the Blue Lagoon was on the map.

World Geophysical Congress 2010

Wikipedia

When I soaked in its healing waters,

it was special fun for me,

because I knew that

the North American and Eurasian

plate boundaries meet at the Blue Lagoon.

So yes, we went to the Blue Lagoon

and joined others having a blast

in its warm, anti-aging waters.

Darn!  I forgot to boil an egg!

Looks like the E-P 

will have to take me back to Iceland.

Oh Darn!