11-15 August, 23 August - 4 September, 2025
With lava so close to the surface, Iceland abounds in geothermal areas: hot springs, fumaroles, mud pots, and geysers.
Geysir
Another stop on the Golden Circle is the Geysir hot spring area.
24 August
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| The Geysir hot spring area from a distance. |
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| Geysir - the geyser that gives geysers their name. Geysir no longer erupts. Geysir goes through long non-eruption periods, which caused a lot of manipulations through most of the 20th century to force eruptions, especially on Icelandic National Day. Now the occasional earthquake may awaken Geysir for a short time, but it is no longer intentionally manipulated to force an eruption. |
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| Geysir may no longer erupt, but nearby Strokkur usually erupts every 10-15 minutes. The plume regularly reaches 20 m (65 ft). |
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| There are several more hot springs near Geysir and Strokkur. This is Bresi which bubbles continuously. |
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| Mineral deposits building up behind Bresi. |
Seltun (Krýsuvík)
Also near Reykjavik, on the Reykanes peninsula, are the hot springs at Seltun, part of the Krýsuvík geothermal area.
15 August
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| Hot springs at Seltun. |
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| A bubbling mud pot. |
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| Lots of color at Seltun. |
Hverir
The Hverir geothermal area lies at the base of the Krafla volcano between Krafla and Mývatn.
28 August
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| A mud pot at Hverir. |
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| A fumarole lined with sulfur. |
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| Hot springs at Hverir. One of the most startling things about Hverir was that visitors are allowed to wander freely throughout the basin. Areas that are particularly dangerous are roped off, and there are some well-worn trails, boardwalks, and viewing platforms, but mostly you can go where you please. |
Leirhnúkur
28 August
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| The Krafla Fires (eruptions) started at Leirhnúkur in December 1975 and lasted until August 1984. The lava field can be seen near the bottom of this photo. |
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| Lava field and hot springs as we hiked up Leirhnúkur. In contrast to Hverir, a lot of this trail was on wooden and metal walkways. |
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| Even though it's been 40 years, the lava fields are still cooling and giving off steam. |
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| Lava field and brightly colored mound beyond. |
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