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All Iceland Haukadalur Geothermal Field

Haukadalur Geothermal Field

This valley of hot springs and boiling mud pots is home to the record-holding "Geysir," which originated the English word.

Iceland

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Been Here
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A Strokkur geyser eruption   Moyan Brenn
A Strokkur geyser eruption   Moyan Brenn
Strokkur blows off every 10 to 15 minutes   Moyan Brenn
Hot spring Blesi, in the background is Strokkur   Andreas Tille
Haukadalur July 2017   Kara Davis / Atlas Obscura User
Haukadalur: Konungshver   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
Geyser eruption   Thomas W. Fiege
The great Geysir is quiet but steamy these days   Hansueli Krapf
View of the Haukadalur valley   Diego Delso
Waiting for the next eruption…   dconvertini
There it goes…   Shaun Versey
A reliable boiling blast   Jonathan Wisner
The geyser called Geysir   Ben30
  thegenxjourney / Atlas Obscura User
  thegenxjourney / Atlas Obscura User
Haukadalur July 2017   Kara Davis / Atlas Obscura User
Haukadalur July 2017   Kara Davis / Atlas Obscura User
Haukadalur July 2017   Kara Davis / Atlas Obscura User
Haukadalur July 2017   Kara Davis / Atlas Obscura User
Haukadalur July 2017   Kara Davis / Atlas Obscura User
  quitos123 / Atlas Obscura User
  Julius Spada / Atlas Obscura User
  Julius Spada / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  jeffrobertsonwmt / Atlas Obscura User
Strokkur about to burst through the water.   Sputnicktatorship / Atlas Obscura User
  lukavandermeij / Atlas Obscura User
  lukavandermeij / Atlas Obscura User
  lukavandermeij / Atlas Obscura User
Haukadalur geothermal area   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
Haukadalur: Strokkur   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
Geothermal Field, by Alan Tigwell   Bearded Zombie / Atlas Obscura User
Geothermal Field, by Alan Tigwell   Bearded Zombie / Atlas Obscura User
The geothermal field   David Sorich
Geothermal Field, by Alan Tigwell   Bearded Zombie / Atlas Obscura User
Stone sign for Strokkur   Mathew Browne / PhotoHound
  quitos123 / Atlas Obscura User
  quitos123 / Atlas Obscura User
Geyser in October sun   mocchiatto / Atlas Obscura User
  jeffrobertsonwmt / Atlas Obscura User
  Johan SWE / Atlas Obscura User
  Johan SWE / Atlas Obscura User
  Johan SWE / Atlas Obscura User
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  thegenxjourney / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The Haukadalur valley in southern Iceland has a regular floor show with just about everything going for it. It performs on time, it’s flashy, it’s ancient, and it won’t cost you anything. There are a couple of real show-stoppers who go by the names of Geysir and Strokkur—one is the old pro, the other, you might say is the understudy.

Geysir and Strokkur are a couple of erupting hot springs, or geysers, in the Haukadalur geothermal field, north of Iceland’s Laugarvatn Lake.

The bigger of the two is Geysir (we get the English word from him, a derivative of an Old Norse word for “gush”), but he’s been a little shy about his star power recently, only spouting off sporadically. Strokkur, on the other hand, can’t contain himself, erupting reliably every 10 or 15 minutes, every day and night. There are other, smaller, geysers scattered around the field, as well as mineral springs and mud pots (a boiling slurry of geothermal water and dissolved minerals, rock and anything that happens to fall in).

Although they’ve probably been active for 10,000 years or more, the hot springs of Haukadalur were first noted by Europeans back in the late 13th century, when the field erupted in geothermal activity after an earthquake. Starting in the 18th century the tourists came, looking for mineral baths, therapeutic mud, and just to watch the geysers blow.

Geysir has been quiet recently, but its eruption in 2000 of over 400 feet (122 m) holds the record for the highest known geyser blast of all time. His understudy, Strokkur, has more recently taken over the show. A little smaller, a little less experienced, but a whole lot more dependable.

Visit during the winter months to catch the pale winter sun illuminating the steam shot into the air by the geysers. The short hours of weak sunlight mean you'll get a glimpse of the stunning shades of orange and pink that you might not see during the summer.

Related Tags

Natural Wonders Geysers Islands Spring Nature

Know Before You Go

Geysir, Strokkur and the geothermal field is about 95 miles (60 km) east of Reykjavík, accessible via Þingvallavegur. The area is public property, so it's open for viewing 24/7. There's a hotel, Geyser Center and campground all nearby, with a few restaurants offering hearty Icelandic food. Along with Þingvellir National Park, Gullfoss waterfall and Kerið volcanic crater, the Geysir Geothermal Area is part of the well-known Iceland Golden Circle tourist route.

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Community Contributors

Edited By

aribrown, aworldtotravel, DanHoroTravelMemories, bthrockmorton...

  • aribrown
  • aworldtotravel
  • DanHoroTravelMemories
  • bthrockmorton
  • Jaszmina Szendrey
  • thegenxjourney
  • SEANETTA
  • Bearded Zombie
  • Sputnicktatorship
  • quitos123
  • Kara Davis
  • mocchiatto
  • mathewbrowne
  • jeffrobertsonwmt
  • Johan SWE
  • Julius Spada
  • lukavandermeij

Published

December 8, 2016

Edit this listing

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Sources
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haukadalur
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strokkur
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geysir
  • http://hiticeland.com/places_and_photos_from_iceland/geysir
  • http://www.aworldtotravel.com/iceland-road-trip-itinerary/
  • https://horotravelmemories.com/iceland-geysir-in-winter/
Haukadalur Geothermal Field
Haukadalsvegur Geothermal Field
Iceland
64.31039, -20.302318
Visit Website

Nearby Places

Geysir Glíma Restaurant

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miles away

Gullfoss (Golden Falls)

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