#Iceland plate boundary series#
#Iceland plate boundary free#
#Iceland plate boundary crack#

Life in SilfraĪlthough Thingvellir Lake has an abundance of fish species and trout fishing is very popular in the lake, the fish usually do not venture far into the Silfra fissure. If you are diving, the maximum allowed depth of your dive in Silfra will be 18 meters, and the average depth of the dive is between 7 and 12 meters. Silfra is at some points very deep (cave systems can descend to approximately 60 meters). We plan our dives and snorkel swims so that we are able to see all the parts of Silfra in every Diving Silfra Day Tour and Silfra Snorkeling Tour. Here divers and snorkelers can see across the entire span of the lagoon, about 100 meters.

#Iceland plate boundary series#

This series of impressively deep cracks in the earth is followed by a shallow lagoon with fields of algae.

The first three sections are deep, expansive canyons, sometimes extending down into dark and uncharted cave systems. The main part of Silfra has been divided into four main sections: Silfra Big Crack, Silfra Hall, Silfra Cathedral, and Silfra Lagoon. Diving through this tunnel is also now prohibited. This tunnel is known as “the toilet” due to the strong current that flushes divers down the swim-through. At the other end of the pool, a tunnel links this body of water with Silfra. Diving in all cave and overhead environments is strictly prohibited in Silfra and the Silfra cave is an especially dangerous for diving due to its narrow passages and instability. Hidden from view is a cave that extends from this pool of water to great depths-63 meters at least.

Walking from the parking lot to Silfra will lead you past a pool of water prior to the Silfra entrance. The Silfra rift occupies in total a relatively small surface area, approximately 600 by 200 meters. On our Diving Silfra Day Tour we offer the PADI Silfra Tectonic Specialty Course, where we dive deeper into the geology of Silfra. This shifting of the earth creates new tunnels, caverns, and underwater terrain. The fissure widens incrementally, but more drastic changes to the depth profile have occurred during earthquakes in which boulders and rocks fall into the crack.

#Iceland plate boundary free#

Silfra is said to have the clearest water in the world feel free to have a sip of this pristine water at any point during your dive or snorkel.Īs Silfra is right at the crux between the tectontic plates, it is a very “living” dive site in that it is constantly undergoing changes, both large and small.

The underwater visibility of the water in Silfra will rarely, if ever, be surpassed. The glacial meltwater remains very cold in Silfra, but as fresh water is constantly filling the fissure, the water never freezes and remains 2☌ – 4☌ year round. The water is therefore extremely pure by the time it reaches the north end of Thingvellir lake and it allows for underwater visibility of over 100 meters in Silfra. The water is filtered through porous underground lava for 30-100 years before reaching the spring that feeds into Silfra. The earthquakes of 1789 opened up several fissures in the Thingvellir area, but the Silfra fissure cut into the underground spring filled with glacial meltwater from the nearby Langjökull glacier.

#Iceland plate boundary crack#

Silfra is the only place in the world where you can dive or snorkel directly in a crack between two tectonic plates. The diving and snorkeling site at Silfra is right where the two continents meet and drift apart about 2 cm per year. The rift was formed in 1789 by the earthquakes accompanying the divergent movement of the two tectonic plates. Silfra is a fissure between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates in Thingvellir National Park. Silfra, between the continents The Geology of Silfra