Iceland: Day 4

From Akureyri, I took a day trip to Myvatn, a lake and area of interesting volcanic formations scattered around the lake.

From Myvatn

Along the way, I made a quick stop at Godafoss.

From Myvatn

The forecast was for rain, and it rained very hard all the way to Myvatn, but fortunately it stopped once I arrived. First, I walked through Dimmuborgir, which is an area of cones or columns of lava.

From Myvatn

Then to Hverfjall, a giant tephra crater, and possibly the windiest place I have been. It is a huge crater, with a great view of the area. But, the wind was blowing so hard I had trouble breathing when facing downwind.

From Myvatn

After that it was to Hverir to see the fumaroles and boiling mud. Some of them were venting steam with so much force that they sounded like jets rather than something natural.

From Myvatn

Then it was down the road to Leirhnjukur to walk around some more recent (some as recent as 1980s) lava with steam drifting out. Unlike the other hotspots, the steam wasn't rising from well defined places, it seemed to be rising slowing from large sections of lava. This led me to think that the steam wasn't from underground water being heated, but from rainwater working its way through the cracks down to whatever hot stuff was below (though I could be wrong). It was definitely an interesting walk.

From Myvatn

From Myvatn

The last stop before returning to Akureyri was Stora Viti caldera, which was formed in the 1700s.

From Myvatn