 |
| http://deadwildroses.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/1iceland.jpg |
After I unpacked and slept I immediately headed off for the Blue Lagoon. This tourist attraction in Iceland is a mineral spring heated to 40C by the natural powers of the earth. These Springs were amazing, they really get you to think, and I thought, "how on earth do these springs get heated naturally to 40C, I can't even get my bath that hot!" I knew my knowledge of the tectonic plates would help me on this one. Originally I had decide to visit this beautiful paradise of fire and ice because it is an odd, spectacular phenomenon. Iceland sits directly on the mid Atlantic ridge. This ridge is created by a divergent boundary.
 |
| http://dreamtigers.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/divergent_boundary_draft.jpg |
Iceland is located on a divergent boundary between the Eurasian Plate, and the North American Plate. A divergent boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other creating a gap. Molten rock from the mantle fills this gap and creates new rock and sometimes island formations. Just like the hot air is forced through the doors that are open. One of the main attractions on Iceland is seeing one of the many volcanoes that has formed from the magma bubbling up out of the divergent boundary.
 |
| http://feww.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/volcano-map-of-iceland.jpg |
And then it hit me, the divergent boundary must be heating these pools, after all the divergent boundary has created many volcanoes on Iceland and where there is magma there are hot springs!
A recent eruption in Iceland was the Eyjafjallajökull volcanoes in April of 2010. Earthquakes also occur along the fractures caused by divergent boundaries. The largest earthquake near Iceland was a 5.2 magnitude on January of 2005.
 |
| http://img.xcitefun.net/users/2010/08/203622,xcitefun-iceland-volcano-2.jpg |
No comments:
Post a Comment