Strokkur

Reykjavík

Strokkur (Icelandic for "churn") is a fountain geyser located in a geothermal area beside the Hvítá River in Iceland in the southwest part of the country, east of Reykjavík. It is one of Iceland's most famous geysers,[1] erupting once every 6–10 minutes. Its usual height is 15–20 m, although it can sometimes erupt up to 40 m high.

Location

Strokkur belongs to the Haukadalur valley area, where various other geothermal feature such as mud pools, fumaroles and other geysers are located around it, such as the famous Geysir geyser.[2]

History

Strokkur eruption in 2006
Strokkur at rest
Strokkur eruption

Strokkur was first mentioned in 1789, after an earthquake helped to unblock the conduit of the geyser. Its activity fluctuated throughout the 19th century; in 1815 its height was estimated to have been as much as 60 metres. It continued to erupt until the turn of the 20th century, until another earthquake blocked the conduit again. In 1963, upon the advice of the Geysir Committee, locals cleaned out the blocked conduit through the bottom of the basin, and the geyser has been regularly erupting ever since.[2]

Tourism

Strokkur and its surrounding areas regularly attract tourists hoping to see the geyser erupt, as it is one of a very few natural geysers to erupt frequently and reliably.[1]

Evolution of the eruption

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Strokkur.

References

  1. 1 2 "Strokkur and Geysir". Randburg.com. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  2. 1 2 Luhr, James F. (2003). Earth. Doring Kindersly. p. 205. ISBN 1-4053-0018-3.

Coordinates: 64°18′47″N 20°18′2″W / 64.31306°N 20.30056°W / 64.31306; -20.30056

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.