The Golden Circle of Iceland

On the bus heading to the Golden
Circle

You can see the pipeline for the heated
water and the power lines all coming
from the geothermal plant.

Day 2 in Iceland.  This morning we were up early and headed out for the Golden Circle Tour.  This gave us the opportunity to observe first hand how geothermal energy is harnessed and used throughout this country. 

 As we headed east from Reyjkavik we immediately observed the pipelines and power cables along the road.   

One of many plants turning heated
water into electricity.

 This is the process used to transport the hot waters from the geothermal plant to the city and towns.  Power lines sending electricity were located along side the pipes. We were able to see the first power plant fromm a distance. (see our Flickr page for more pics)

The Geysir in action

Gullfoss Waterfall is one of the
top 10 waterfalls in the world.

Our tour also enlightened us with the history of Iceland and its first Parliament location.  We were  able to see where the North American and European Continental plates are drifting apart.  The bottom picture to the left was taken near the rift.  The part that is in the middle is called a "micro plate".  This stop was followed by a visit to the Gullfoss Waterfall which is the result of melting glaciers.  This is the location of one of the first ecological preservation efforts, successfully spearheaded by a young local girl who was able to save the falls from commercial use.  Next stop was the "Geysir" where again geothermal activity was observed.



At the Geothermal Plant

  Our final stop was the Hellisheidarvirkjun Geothermal Power Plant. Here we were able to observe  how the extremely hot waters from the earth are processed and sent to homes throughout Iceland. Our tour guide explained that two of the three geothermal power plants had a componant that takes the gasses out of the geothermal heated water but one of the plants which serviced Reykavik did not therefore the smell of sulphur was what we had been smelling in the shower.  This particular plant services the local towns and Reyjkavik.  After our 9 hour tour it was back to the room to pack up and find a place to eat before getting to bed and prepared for a 4:45 a.m. departure for the airport.  Now it is on to Norway, where the Energy Detectives will pursue ...... Hydropower at work.  Stay tuned for more details.