Sam, I am: Iceland Day 5: Variety is the Spice of Life

Day 5 Route or Variety is the Spice of Life

Canyon Moira

Day 5 was a beautiful day from start to finish with varying vistas coupled with great weather. Waterfalls, volcanic desert, geothermal landscapes, lakes, canyons, and craters were on tap for the day. Driving between Egilsstaðir and Goðafoss, you pass through a landscape change around every corner making this one of the most beautiful parts of our Iceland Journey.

Canyon Moira

Our first stop after leaving Egilsstaðir was the Canyon Moira, a beautiful canyon just off highway 1, that has little or no signage. It is a short hike to the canyon bridge, through a gated trail that is accessible but lifting the latch on the red gate. Now I had seen beautiful pictures of blue-green water in Canyon Moira but as the Jökulsá á Dal, is a glacial river, mud and silt are a normal occurrence as well. In fact, Jökulsá á Dal was the muddiest of Icelandic rivers, carrying approximately 112 tons of clay and sand to the ocean daily. While the Kárahnjúkar Hydroelectric Power plant has reduced the amount sediment and silt entering the river, my visit shows that significant amounts are still transported via the river to the ocean, depending I suspect, upon the amount of water released from Kárahnjúkar dam on any day.

The pedestrian Bridge over the Jökulsá á Dal River at Canyon Moira

Rjúkandafoss

Next up was another series of waterfalls collectively know as Rjúkandafoss. It is one of the tallest waterfalls in Iceland with an overall height of 139 meters (456 feet) when including all in the series of the waterfalls, thus making it easily visible from the road.

Rjúkandafoss along Highway 1

Alternate View of Rjúkandafoss

Volcanic Desert

View from Parking de la Chaise Blanche, North East Highlands

Our rental vehicle was a car so travel along Iceland's infamous F roads was forbidden and a car would have been unsuitable to that environment. While the Ring Road technically does not traverse the Highlands of Iceland, driving from Egilsstaðir to Reykjahlíð you pass through a small offshoot of Iceland's Highlands (Northeast Highlands). The main portion of Iceland's Highlands are located on a sparsely inhabited plateau, an area that is barren, devoid of life and is a volcanic desert. Do not get me wrong there are Highland areas I would love to see, next time with the aid of a high clearance 4x4 and more time.

Our first stop was at the "Parking de la Chaise Blanche". It is probable that the large white chair has "bite the dust", having succumb to the harsh environment in which it was placed. The surrounding area was so devoid of life it is easily understandable why NASA conducted moon training missions in Iceland. Water infiltrates the ground so quickly in this type of environment that it is unavailable for plant growth resulting in a surface of grey, black, or brown earth, lava, and volcanic ashes. While the landscape may at first seem sparse, it is an incredibly diverse landscape that includes glaciers, geothermal hot springs, spectacular ice caves, stunning waterfalls and is an active volcanic landscape. Its this incredibly diverse, fascinating, and unique landscapes that so intrigues visitors to Iceland.

Volcanic Desert Landscape of the North East Highland

A mere 5.6 kms (3.5 miles) down the road is the Beitarhúsið cafe. The building was what caught our interest, but the warning sign was the revelation. In the parking lot, a large government sign warning about continuing down the road as it was a F road and 4x4's were required. Additional insurance was strongly recommended such as gravel protection and a Super Collision Damage waiver. Also, it noted that most rental cars do not have an insurance for the undercarriage damage and undercarriage damage can occur on the F roads. We carried full insurance and are very thankful we did as two weeks later, many cars were damaged from high winds that pummeled northeast Iceland. In one of the photos in the linked article, most of the signs I mentioned above are missing and cars are severely damaged (https://www.ruv.is/frett/2022/09/26/worst-storm-in-living-memory).

Beitarhúsið

Dettifoss and Selfoss

Dettifoss, Selfoss, and Hafragilsfoss are located on the Jökulsá á Fjöllum River which flows from the Vatnajökull glacier and is in the Vatnajökull National Park in northeast Iceland. We did not visit Hafragilsfoss. Dettifoss is one of Europe’s most powerful waterfalls, second actually in terms of water flow. While you can visit both sides of the river, the west side road is paved. We attempted the east side but decided it was a not safe to drive for the vehicle we had rented. The east side was in rough shape and turned out to be the roughest unpaved road we tried in Iceland. The west side road (Dettifoss Road) is paved and as such will have more tourists. We still got great photos and were not subjected to hoards of tourists.

Returning to Route 1 along Dettifoss Road, you could see the steam coming out of the vents at Hverir Geothermal Area, our next stop.

Dettifoss from West Side

Selfoss from West Side

Hverir Geothermal Area

The Hverir Geothermal Area is at the foot of Námafjall mountain, part of the Krafla volcano fissure zone. Hverir is one of the most active geothermal areas in all of Iceland, so expect, smoking fumaroles and boiling mud pots all surrounded by sulphur crystals of differing colours. And of course, the overwhelming smell of rotten eggs. Hverir is atop of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; the boundary where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet and separate.

The gas and heat observed at Hverir is generated approximately 1,000 meters (~3200 feet) below the surface, where cold groundwater seeps down to the magma layer and is superheated to above 200 °C (390 °F). Obviously sticking to marked trails is essential for safety reasons. There is a hiking trail up the Námafjall mountain. Due to timing constraints, we were unable to hike it, but I suspect it will provide some interesting views of Hverir.

Námafjall Mountain and the Hverir Geothermal Area

Bubbling Mud Pools

Smoking fumaroles (no not manmade)

Hverfjall

Hverfjall volcanic crater is a tephra explosion crater or tuff ring volcano, a kilometer (3280 ft) in diameter and about 396 metres (1300 ft) high. The volcano which erupted in 2500 BP is part of the Krafla fissure swarm. Hverfjall is a popular hiking destination and based on our experience timing is critical if you wish to hike it. When we arrived at the parking lot, it was full of both cars and tour buses. The hiking trail around the crater was crowded. We decided to head onto our next destination a little further down the road.

Hverfjall Volcanic Crater

The Skútustaðagígar Pseudo Craters

The Skútustaðagígar pseudo craters are a natural phenomenon that occurs because of hot lava flowing over cool, wet grounds resulting in the pressurization of the earth from flowing lava, rather than being caused by the volcanic eruptions. Steam becomes trapped under the lava, producing extreme pressure. Steam explosions are triggered when pressures exceed a certain threshold, creating depressions in the ground known as pseudo craters. Pseudo craters are a rare phenomenon found only in Iceland, Hawaii, and the Azores islands. The biggest pseudo craters in Iceland are the Skútustaðagígar pseudo craters in the Mývatn area in North Iceland and were formed during the eruption of Lúdentaborgir and Þrengslaborgir around 2,300 years ago.

Skútustaðagígar Pseudo Craters

Mývatn Lake and a View of Several Pseudo Craters

Goðafoss and Geitafoss

As the day 5 ended we visited the beautiful Goðafoss (Waterfall of the Gods) located on the Skjálfandafljót River, the fourth-largest river in Iceland. It is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the country, falling from a height of 12 meters (39 feet) over a width of 30 meters (98 feet). Of course, like many sites in Iceland there is a related legend (https://glacialexperience.is/the-historical-godafoss-waterfall-in-north-iceland-the-waterfall-of-the-gods/.). While Geitafoss is the smaller downstream sibling to Goðafoss, it is located on turbulent section of the river making it small but mighty. The name, Geitafoss or Goats' Fall stems from a farmer who herded his sheep and goats near this location.