What an unexpected turn of events today!! I didn't really have anything planned, but I had some ideas. I was then contacted by Steinz, a friend of Franz, who I met through Thorgils. Steinz runs the some of the operations at the Krafla geothermal power plant, located in one of the most volcanically active zones in Iceland, as it sits right in the ridge between the N. American and Eurasian tectonic plates.
The buses here in the north are pretty lame. They run only once a day- of course at the most inconvenient time. So I decided to rent a car for the day, even though it is quite pricey. But in the end it was worth it because I can dictate my own schedule for stopping and spending time at the sites I think are most important for my interests.
I arrived to the Krafla site a bit after noon. Steinz greeting me at my car and we went into his office for a little bit to talk about what he was to show me and what I was interested in seeing. We then proceeded to the visitor center, where they have a video that describes the power plant. This plant is the oldest one in Iceland. It began construction in the early 70s, and shortly after they had a volcanic eruption that lasted 9 years! What is most interesting, though, is that right before the eruption, the ground level had dropped 2-3 meters below what it was, and then it swelled up again, 2-3 meters above what it was. It has now somewhat stabilized. They were able to work around it, and the landscape still has its residue, hardened magma. The video was great, and he ended up giving me a copy of it, which was so very nice of him. After the film he took me inside the power plant and explained how the turbines operated. This particular plant mostly feeds the electrical grid because of its high temperatures and abundance of steam. After, we proceeded to the control room. Everything is run by computers now, it is pretty amazing. He explained to whole process through the diagrams representative of the system operating via the computer.
Next, he drove me around the whole site that Krafla operates, which was very fascinating. I got to go inside one of those semi-circular geodesic domes and see one of their wells in action. It was their latest one, number 40. I was also able to see the IDDP bore-hole, the one that encountered magma. IDDP is Icelandic Deep Drilling Project, where the want to drill as far as 5 km to reach a critical temperature. This particular site, the only drilling maybe 2.5 km before reaching magma. They tried to close it, but now it has become productive. This happened in February and now they are monitoring it as it releases intensely dry steam. The temperatures this well is releasing is over 300 degrees centigrade, and is increasing 10 degrees about every week. This may be the hottest bore hole in Iceland! He took me to all to sites and was eager to answer any questions I had. He was fantastic! After, we had coffee and chatted for a bit. He gave me some suggestions on what to do in the area (it is 100 km from Akureyri). He suggested to lava fields, some hot springs, and Gelfoss, a waterfall on my way home. I ended up visiting all of them so I could take full advantage of having this car.
The lava fields were absolutely amazing. I have never experienced anything like it. Steinz explained to me that when the lava hardens, about 200-300 m below the surface it is still there as molten rock flowing through chambers. Walking on top of this 'ground' you could here the hollow echos of the crevasses beneath the surface. Steam was rising from all around and there were times when you could feel the ground below you as a hot surface. It was an incredible experience.
After, I slowly made my journey home, stopping in areas that I found interesting. One of these areas was hot springs with boiling mud/clay inside the craters. It was kind of crazy, and the smell is the worst I had experienced so far- sulfur mixed with boiling minerals. The wind would sometimes blow it into your face, which wasn't very pleasant to smell, but was nice and toasty warm. I also finally came across on of the 'tourist' oriented abandoned wells. It is kind of in a similar condition as the IDDP bore hole, with crazy steam rising from it creating a sound that can be heard from all around the site. These particular abandoned wells have been 'sealed' by just piling rocks on top of it. I am not sure why it is like that and why the have chosen to not further develop them. There were a total of three.
It was a really great day, especially great because it was a surprise! Tomorrow I head up to Husavik, northeast of Akureyri, to begin my fish farming visits, which will be taking place in the next week. Should be fun and interesting!
Image 1: Krafla Power Plant- View from North looking South, on top of a hill side
Image 2: The IDDP well that reached magma- notice how the steam close to the hole's source is almost clear, this is because it is so so so dry!
Image 3: Viti (Hell) Crater- after a climb up the edge
Image 4: Lava fields- border between older and newer, the older ones have the moss growing on them. Notice the steam rising from below. This entire area is like this, as if the earth is boiling beneath you
Image 5: Namafjall Hverir- location of the bubbling mud, a photo I wasn't able to include. However, this photo is one of 3 abandoned wells like this in the area, with rock piled on top and has a new occupation of tourist attraction
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