Iceland is chock-full of natural wonders. Whether it be the rolling waves crashing onto the black sand beach, the rapid icy waterfalls, or the massive volcanoes towering over the vast expanse, you are sure to witness something marvelous wherever you go. Still, it’s hard to appreciate these wonders in their entirety when you don’t understand how they are created. That’s where we come in!
While the idea of a volcano is fascinating itself, the things that happen underground where we can’t see the effects of nature are astounding. Iceland was created by volcanic activity. The island is dotted with over 30 active volcano systems, and yet people still find ways to live there. Some theorize that a deep mantle plume exists deep under the surface of Iceland, and this is what causes the volcanic activity, but others theorize that the volcanic activity is due to plate tectonics, which take place in the upper mantle. Here are some images and moments from the Lava Centre, where we learned all about volcanoes.
Another natural wonder we experienced during our trip are the aurora borealis, an absolutely stunning light show that has left peoples’ jaws dropped for thousands of years. Its colors are produced through reactions between solar winds, pulled 40 million miles from the sun via earth’s magnetic force, and the various gasses inside of our atmosphere. For instance, the green and red of the aurora come from oxygen, and the blue and purple come from nitrogen. These colors are also affected by the altitude where the gasses and solar winds meet. Due to the snow, we haven’t seen auroras since our first night here, so here are some additional pictures of that display, as well as an image of the “Imagine Peace” tower, conceived by Yoko Ono in honor of John Lennon, which we were fortunate to see.
By Artese & Devon
