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1 History of Geysir

The oldest accounts of a geyser at Haukadalur date back to 1294. Earthquakes in the area caused significant changes in local neighbouring landscape creating several new hot springs. Changes in the activity of the Geysir and the surround geysers are strongly related to earthquake activity. In records dated 1630 the geysers erupted so violently that the valley around them trembled.

In recent times earthquakes have tended to revive the activity of Geysir which then subsides again in the following years. Before 1896 Geysir was almost dormant before an earthquake that year caused eruptions to begin again, occurring several times a day, lasting up to an hour and causing spouts of up to 60 metres in height. By 1935 the geyser was almost dormant again and a manmade channel was dug through the silica rim around the edge of the geyser vent. This ditch caused a lowering of the watertable and a revival in activity. Gradually this channel too clogged with silica and eruptions again became rare. In 1981 the ditch was cleared again and eruptions could be stimulated, on special occasions, by the addition of soap. Following environmental concerns the practice of adding soap was seldom employed during the 1990s. During that time Geysir seldom erupted. When it did erupt, it was spectacular, sending boiling water about forty metres into the air. On the Icelandic National Day authorized government geologists would force an eruption. A further earthquake in 2000 revived the geyser again. Initially eruptions were taking place on average eight times a day. By July 2003 this activity had again decreased to around three times per day.

Strokkur geyser's activity has also been affected by earthquakes, although to a lesser extent than the Great Geysir. Eruptions of up to 20 metres occur approximately every four minutes and thus this geyser remains the focus of tourist attention. There are around thirty much smaller geysers and hot pools in the area.

Descriptions of the Great Geysir and Strokkur have been given in every travel guide to Iceland published from the 18th century onwards. Today the geyser remains an essential element of almost every tourist's itinerary.

The place is, together with Þingvellir and the GullfossGullfoss is a waterfall located on the White River ( Hvita) in south central Iceland. Its name means the Golden Falls . The flow of the river from the regular rains and the glacial runoff, particularly in summer, makes Gullfoss the largest volume falls in waterfall, part of the most famous sights of Iceland, the Golden Circle.

2 Exploding geyser

3 Ownership of the Geysir area

Until 1894 the Geysir area was owned by a local farmer. In that year the area was sold to James Craig (later Lord Craigavon), a whiskyWhisky (or whiskey is an alcoholic beverage distilled from grain, often including malt, which has then been aged in wooden barrels. Spelling The spelling "Whisky" is generally used for those distilled in Scotland, Canada, and Japan, while "whiskey" (with distiller and future Prime MinisterAlternate meaning: Prime Minister (band #A prime minister is the leading member of the cabinet of the top level government in a parliamentary system of government of a country, alternatively #A prime minister is an official in a presidential system or sem of Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is the smallest of the Home Nations of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland lies in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It covers 14,139 square kilometres (5,459 square miles), and has a populati. Initially he erected large fences around the site and an entrance fee was charged for visitors wishing to view the geysers. The following year however Craig appeared to tire of his project and gave the area as a present to a friend, E. Craig, who dropped the entrance fees. Later Craig's nephew Hugh Rogers inherited the site. In 1935 he sold the site to film director Sigurður Jónasson who subsequently donated it to the Icelandic people in perpetuity.