Selfoss and Pingvellir

Beginning the Golden Circle of Iceland.

If on a short stay in Iceland the area east of Reykjavik, known as the Golden Circle, is where many natural features can be found and is where the major tour operators are based, and as we found even in winter a constant stream of large tour buses rotating through the high spots.  As we made our way along the south coast the town of Selfoss was our base for the Golden Circle and it avoided the drive in and out of a city.

 A short distance north out of Selfoss we came across this sign. With Iceland having abundant electricity generation from renewable resources it was worth the visit.

Located almost roadside this was the view from a very tidy car park close to a visitor entry door.

Inside there was a spacious display area and a model of Iceland's electricity systems. Large windows gave this view down onto the three water powered turbines.  One generating over 6mw and two smaller ones 4.2mw each.

This information panel inside the the entrance gives a brief history of hydro-power.  The area north of Selfoss is a mass of wetlands, small lakes and streams which are seen on travels to the various tourist high spots in the Golden Circle.

The power station is a very tidy installation built in the same era as the Waitaki power station in New Zealand and on a river system.

Towards the head of the lakes and rivers is where the earth parts.  Pingvellir National Park and UNESCO World Heritage site.

The central rift has a boardwalk linked to tracks from the a series of small car-parks and the park visitor centre.

Just keep walking, for at one end is a small but spectacular waterfall...

 ...crashing onto rocks...

...then draining into a small swift river.

It attracts tourists and photographers even in the winter.

The main pathway is about 1km but well worth the walk.

 Towards the upper end it narrows as the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates move apart between 1mm & 18mm per year.  Best not to be in this section when a rock lets go.

 During the walk many interesting rock piles and columns (left above Kath) are revealed.

 Some precariously balanced.

Others appear undisturbed for many years allowing vegetation to grow.

 The wall of rock winds its way along the major rift where a deep rut is visible at its base.

 Another rock pile near the path is well covered by low spreading plants.

Even some near the wall of the fissure.

It is not just one major rupture but many subsidiary cracks in the earth surface as shown here adjacent to the main opening.  The column shown above now looks even more unstable when the fractures either side are revealed.

Thick rock columns that have not moved for a very long time have been clothed in a cushion plant, like an Icelandic woolen hat.

 Even a cloak of cushion plant as the track nears the plateau surface.

Another rocky pillar.

 Then the flat plateau is reached.

The path from the NP Visitor Center to the head of the large rupture.  This cairn may have been part of a historic route that leads to what is now the tourist walking route.  These cairns are protected and must not be tampered with.

 A closer look at the surface rocks.

Some having solidified without fractures upon cooling..

With these large cracks walking across such a flat looking surface in the dark or in snow is not advisable.

 A friendly Ptarmagin in its winter plumage bids us farewell.

Dusk is approaching on the return to Selfoss in preparation for the second part of the Golden Circle next day.

In Selfoss a larger and more modern church and hall beside the river,  across the road from our accommodation.

 Selfoss in the evening with the Ring Road (SH1) bridge leading west (left) toward Reykjavik less than an hour away.

 A small cemetery plot over looking the river with the west bank in the distance.

The main cemetery nearby behind the church illuminated as is usually the case.
The next day will be the second part of the Golden Circle and the last day in Iceland.