Þingvellir
National Park
Loaded with history, both cultural and geological. Alþingi, the Icelandic parliament, was established here in 930. An eruption occurring in the year 1000 showed contemporary understanding of the forces of natural phenomena versus enraged gods. Icelanders adopted Christianity at Alþingi after some debate between the heathen extremists and the Christians.
In the park, the western tectonic rift edge is very clear.


Mount Skjaldbreiður (Fjallið Skjaldbreiður)
“Queen of all our country’s mountains,
crowned with snow sublime and pure!
Once you poured from fiery fountains
floods of lava down the moor.
Years have passed since rage and riot
ravaged meadow, glade, and field:
now you bear your name in quiet,
noble, broadly swelling shield!“
(Jónas Hallgrímsson)
The interglacial lava shield Lyngdalsheiði borders the Þingvellir graben. To the south it it closed off by the jagged mountains of Hengill central volcanoes and Hrómundartindur, which has produced the most basic and most evolved rocks in the Þingvellir area, like the pillow basalts of Mælifell and the andesites of Stapafell.
The opposing boundary fault is called Hrafnagjá and is 11 km long, 68 m where it is widest and has a maximum throw of 30 meters. From where we stand, you can take a walk into Almannagjá, which is 7.7 km long, 64 m where it is widest with maximum throw of 30-40 meters. This is where you can see the most dramatic structure of the giant crack when the ground was being ripped apart by the forces of the seafloor spreading.
The most recent rifting within the graben and tectonic event occurred in 1789 when the graben floor subsided 1-3 meters. The old parliament flats became unusable for venues which were then moved to Reykjavík.
I hope you enjoy the magnificent landscape and encourage you to make a short stop by the Öxará waterfall on the way. Not relevant, but if you have watched The Game of Thrones, you might recognize it as one of the filming locations in season 4.
The bus will move to the other parking lot at the end of our walk through the gorge.
On our way back to Reykjavik, we will make a short detour for our next stop. It will be approximately 20 minutes drive.
#1 Hiking
We will take a moderate hike for the next 2.5 to 3 hours depending on your pace. We will see Nesjalaugar and Köldulaugar geothermal areas.
#2 Þingvallavatn
A short stop by the largest natural lake in Iceland which we have seen on our hike. The lake sits in the rift valley between the North- American and Eurasian plates.
#3 Þingvellir
Now we will visit Þingvellir national park, which is full of geological and cultural history. Icelanders formed their first parliament here in the 10th century.
#4 Kjósaskarð
Here we will be standing at the bottom of the valley with mountains and rivers on both sides. Imagine when the bottom used to be the top!
