Valley of Geysers

Haukadalur Valley is the world-famous valley of Iceland’s geysers. Here are the largest geysers of the island - Geysir and Strokkur.

Geysir was discovered by people at the end of the XIII century and is considered the first spring from the earth found by man.

In 1630, it became a record for the number of active geysers, the eruptions of which were similar to explosions that shake the earth. But by the end of the XIX century, Geysir began to surrender, and later completely ceased all activity.

Only in 1896, after another earthquake, the geyser began to throw a mass of boiling water to the surface with renewed force. However, in 1916, Geysir again quieted down until 2000, when there was a fairly strong shaking of the Earth's crust - he woke up and began to erupt eight times a day. By 2003, Geysir had decreased its activity, and now hot water columns can be seen no more than three times a day.

Currently, the most popular in Iceland is considered the geyser Strokkur, the "younger brother" of Geysir. It erupts every 2-6 minutes, and Strokkur is the highest-hitting geyser in the world. He throws a fountain of hot water 20 meters above the ground.

In addition to geysers, there are many small hot springs in the valley, among which the sky-blue lake Blesi stands out.