The Golden Circle – Geysir

Linda Lou Burton posting from Center Hotels Plaza, Reykjavik, Iceland – It’s all in a name, they say. Start with the Icelandic verb geysa meaning “to gush.” Then give the name Geysir to some water gushing out of the ground periodically in a particular place in Iceland’s Haukadalur Valley. Somehow or other, over time, “geysir” became the anglicized word “geyser” that we use for all periodically spouting, gushing, hot springs, like Yellowstone’s Old Faithful. Iceland’s geyser Geysir is less faithful than Old Faithful these days, (so is Old Faithful, for that matter), mainly due to volcanic activity and shifts in the water table. In 1910 Geysir was active every 30 minutes; by 1916 the eruptions almost ceased. In the 1980s it was tinkered with and eruptions forced; that was a tacky move however and was stopped. Mother Nature sent an earthquake in 2000 that revived Geysir, it spewed for for two days to a height of 400 feet! Not happening now, however, and not what Rick saw today on the Golden Circle Tour. He did see a neighboring geyser however, Little Geysir, aka Strokkur.

It erupts every few minutes, spewing up almost a hundred feet; if you miss it, just wait, camera ready, for the next eruption. There are 30 or so smaller geysers and hot pools in the area, note the crowd circled on a chilly day around this geothermal warmth. Just another of Iceland’s many wonders! It was a great stop on the Tour, with Geysir Center, Restaurant, and Hotel nearby, handy for picking up souvenirs, eating and coming back to for a longer stay. “With warmer clothes,” Rick commented. His photos below.

Curious about Old Faithful’s spewing height? It averages about 150 feet. Record holder in the world? Maimangu Geyser near Rotorua, New Zealand once shot up 1,500 feet!

Golden Circle Tours https://www.re.is/golden-circle-tours/

 Geysir Hotel and Restaurant and Center https://hotelgeysir.is/geysir-restaurant/

 Center Hotels Plaza, Reykjavik, Iceland https://www.centerhotels.com/en/hotel-plaza-reykjavik

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