Greg’s Photo Blog

Snow, Waterfalls and Mud Pools

A day of snow, waterfalls, a beautiful lake, mud pools and fumaroles, and hot baths.

The forecast was for 2° C and the possibility of snow. Well, they got that right.

Goðafoss – ‘Waterfall of the Gods’.

Foss is Icelandic for waterfall.

Our route. We followed Highway 1 with a side trip to Dettifoss.

Highlights Slideshow

On the Road to Our First Waterfall

It was snowing when we set out. We crossed a river and went through the Akureyri tunnel only to emerge into more snow and overcast conditions.

Black rock is basalt. You see it everywhere.

Another lava field.

Goðafoss

The name Goðafoss means ‘Waterfall of the Gods’. It is one of Iceland’s most iconic and photographed waterfalls.

It is 12 meters high and 30 meters wide, with vast amounts of water rushing down every second, splitting into two broad cascades, before continuing along the beautiful Skjálfandafljót glacial river.

What’s in a name?

The name of this foss dates from Iceland’s conversion to Christianity.

It was said that Lawspeaker Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði, the chieftain of the area, threw idols of the old gods into the falls after he ruled that his people abandon them for the god of Norway’s pious King Olaf II, canonised as St. Olaf, who was threatening to conquer the heathen commonwealth.

This is recorded in Íslendingabók, a 12th Century account of early Icelandic history recorded by Ari Þorgilsson. This scholar was renowned for his lack of bias towards either superstition or religion and is thus considered one of the most reputable sources of the time to historians.

I’m so glad I invested in a Gore-Tex wet-weather jacket. It’s also wind proof (more or less).

Here’s one I prepared earlier.

Lake Mývatn

Strictly speaking Mývatn should only be used to describe the beautiful lake in North Iceland, but locals often use the term to describe the surrounding area as well.

The lake is 36 square kilometers, making it Iceland’s fourth-largest natural body of water. But unlike most lakes in the country, Mývatn is shallow and rarely gets deeper than 3.5 meters and, so has many lushly vegetated islands rising from its surface. These small islands make the perfect sanctuaries for the many birds in the area, most notably the ducks with at least 13 different species.

The amazing Myvatn area

On the road to Mývatn.

A partially frozen lake.

The area is indeed very picturesque.

Mud Pools and Fumaroles

Mt. Námafjall and the Hverir geothermal area

This area is often called Hell’s Kitchen.

Fumaroles

Fumaroles are openings in the Earth’s crust, often found in volcanic areas, which emit steam and gases such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and hydrogen sulphide. These gases are released from magma beneath the surface.

Here’s a close up of a fumarole:

Hell’s Kitchen indeed.

Mud pools

The smell

In the video I mention rotten egg gas (hydrogen sulphide (H₂S)) and sulphur dioxide (SO₂). They are not the same but smell equally bad and are both found (smelled) in volcanic areas.

Let’s get back on the road.

Dettifoss

Dettifoss, located in the Jökulsárgljúfur canyon, is arguably the most powerful waterfall in Europe and amongst its most impressive ones. Situated in Vatnajökull National Park and fed by the Vatnajökull glacier, the cascade is 100 meters wide and 45 meters) tall. It has a water flow averaging an unbelievable 193 cubic meters per second.

The Road to Dettifoss. The snow had picked up:

The Walk to Dettifoss:

The waterfall truly was powerful, but I was more intrigued by these amazing patterns on the ground. My AI buddy has this to say about them:

This natural formation appears to be an example of patterned ground, specifically a type of frost heave pattern often seen in periglacial environments.

These formations are created by the freeze-thaw cycles of ice and soil. As the ground freezes, ice lenses form and push soil particles to the surface, creating distinctive patterns.

The patterns can vary widely, but in this case, it seems to have formed circular and linear designs, likely influenced by the topography and subsurface conditions. This kind of pattern is common in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, where cold temperatures and seasonal freeze-thaw cycles dominate.

Vök Baths

The Vök Baths are located on Lake Urriðavatn in the Egilsstadir area of eastern Iceland. They were opened in the summer of 2019 and the facilities were designed by the same architect who worked on the famous Blue Lagoon Spa in the southwest of Iceland (we’re going there at the end of our stay in Iceland).

On the road to the Vök Baths.

A long time ago, locals noticed that when Lake Urriðavatn froze in the winter, there were certain spots where the ice would melt. The Icelandic name for these holes is Vök, and they came to reveal hot springs streaming up to the surface from deep under the lake.

The water at Vök is unique in that the hot spring water is so clean it’s possible to drink it, making it the only drinkable natural hot water in Iceland.

The temperature in each bath varied, up to 41° C. The lake was about 5° C. Cathy did dip into the lake (very briefly).

Image from the Vök Baths website.

This white wagtail joined us for dinner at Hotel Hallormsstadur.

Another big day out.

Stay tuned for more adventures on our European Odyssey!