Worlds Colliding

During our Golden Circle tour, our first stop was at Pingvellir National Park.  Here is one of the few places you can see worlds colliding -- two of the world's major tectonic plates the North American and Eurasian meet in Iceland.  There is no clear line of demarcation, but it generally runs diagonally from the southwest coast of Iceland through to the northeast.  This is why Iceland has so many earthquakes and why building regulations are so stringent.  In fact, while in Akureyri, there was a 5.3 magnitude earthquake about 1:00 AM that many locals were talking about the next day.   We all slept right through it.

In this picture, there is a rift between the rocks which has occurred over thousands of years.  It widens by about 2 centimeters per year.  The North American Plate is on the left and the Eurasian Plate is on the right.  If you could lift up the rocks on the right they would match perfectly with those on the left -- much like putting together puzzle pieces.  The shifting of the tectonic plates causes this pulling apart and such a dramatic change in elevation from one plate to the other.

This shifting and colliding of plates is what causes all of the seismic and volcanic activity.  We drove past many volcanoes during our tour.  Eyjafjallajökul was the volcano that erupted in 2010 that everyone remembers but no one can pronounce.  We could see that in the distance.  Hekla was the volcano we drove closest to and could see quite well.  It last erupted in 2000.

About two days before we left for our trip, there was a noticeable increase in seismic activity at Hekla which caused the government to raise the alert level and monitor the area more closely.  We sure didn't tell Mom this or else she would have verbalized every inconceivable doomsday scenario known to man which would have put a real damper on the fun and excitement we've been having.  She would have had a very difficult time being Little Miss Sunshine -- the name I've given her when we travel as she is not allowed to make these types of negative or pessimistic comments.  I know she'll read this before we leave to come home, but since our time in Iceland is drawing to a close, it's probably safe to risk it.