Understand
[edit]Iceland is an island in the middle of Atlantic. It is located along the Mid-atlantic ridge, the youngest part of the ocean floor, where the Earth crust is being constantly produced by active volcanism. The sea floor is growing in both directions - west towards the North America, and east towards Europe. This unique geological setting makes Iceland rich in geothermal features - and hot springs are among them.
Geothermal spas
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Map of Icelandic hot springs
- 1 Blue Lagoon. Blue Lagoon is one of Iceland's prime tourist attractions, located less than an hour drive from the capital. The mineral rich geothermally-heated sea water with milky-blue colour gives the name to the lagoon, which is a by-product of the nearby Svartsengi geothermal power plant.
- 2 Jarðböðin við Mývatn (Mývatn Nature Baths). A small sibling to the famous Blue Lagoon located in the North Iceland. In Jarðböðin the geothermal water is a fresh water, and it was created at the outlet of the Bjarnarflag geothermal power plant.
Hot springs
[edit]- 3 Grettislaug & Jarlslaug. Two hot springs (Jarlslaug is the slightly larger on) paved with rocks located at the sea shore. Actually, the water is not extremely hot (around 39 °C), which might not be so pleasant on a cool day. In the summer season, you can enjoy the services of a nearby café, guest house and a camping ground. 750 ISK (spring soaking).
- 4 Gvendarlaug
- 5 Drangsnes
- 6 Hellulaug
- 7 Heydalur,
- 8 Landbrotalaug
- 9 Nauthólsvík Geothermal Beach, Reykjavík