GSA Student Geotrip to Iceland Itinerary

Iceland 2004--A Student-Only GeoTrip

This is the second time that the Society has offered a student-only trip. We will visit many must-see localities in one of the most must-see places on Earth. For many it will be the first international experience as a geologist. Iceland will provide a magnificent gateway to the geology of the world.
Iceland is a beautiful and fascinating country. Nestled just south of the Arctic Circle, spectacular scenery awaits around every turn. Geothermal areas, volcanoes, glaciers, and waterfalls are everywhere. It will only take you a few minutes to understand why the early Viking settlers felt the land was enchanted.

Trip Leader: Dr. Jim Reynolds, Brevard College, Brevard, NC 28712; reynoljh@brevard.edu
(Phone: 828-884-8377)

List of Participants

Map

See the POSTER we presented about the 2002 trip at the SEGSA/SCGSA in Memphis (3/14/03).

Travel Arrangements: Contact Nicole Beasley-Becker at Holbrooke Travel Nicole@Holbrooktravel.com

(Phone: 1-888-890-0632)

For More Details: Contact Edna Collis at the Geological Society of America

ecollis@geosociety.org

(Phone 1-800-472-1988 ext. 1034).

There will undoubtedly be frequent updates to the itinerary as the departure date draws near. Check back here often!

Itinerary

*Date*	*From*	To	*Activities*
July 11 Day #1	IcelandAir Gateway City	Keflavík, Iceland	Overnight flight on Iceland Air.
July 12 Day #2	Reykjavík	Reykjavík	Bus from Keflavík airport to Reykjavík municipal campground at Laugardalur. Swimming, hot tubs, and saunas are available next door at the municipal pool. Purchase additional food and supplies, swimming at the municipal pool, shopping.
July 13 Day #3	Reykjavík	Hveravellir	Visit Þingvellir, the site of the world's first Parliament, which is right on the rift. Then, on to Gullfoss and Strokkur geyser. We'll camp at the Hveravellir geothermal area, enjoying the hot springs with views of the ice sheets on nearby mountains.
July 14 Day #4	Hveravellir	Reykjahlið	This will be our longest drive (300 km). We'll cross part of the Central Iceland Desert with views of several ice caps and numerous volcanic and glacial features. We'll restock our supplies in Akureyri and make one final stop at Goðafoss before heading to the campsite near Reykjahlið at Myvatn. This will be our northernmost campsite, less than a degree south of the Arctic Circle.
July 15 Day #5	Reykjahlið	Reykjahlið	In the morning we'll drive around Myvatn to see the products of the Myvatn Fires. We'll walk through the pseudocraters area to see some of them close up. After lunch we'll walk through Dimmuborgir and climb to the top of Hverfell tuff cone with excellent views of the rift.
July 16 Day #6	Reykjahlið	Reykjahlið	In the morning, we'll drive to the Namasfjall geothermal area, on the Eurasian Plate, and walk among the geysers and the bubbling pools. Then we'll enter Krafla caldera. After a brief visit to the Viti lake, we'll hike across the patterned ground of the tundra to the rift, the locus of the 1975-1980 Krafla Fires. The remainder of the day will be spent exploring the features of the rift.
July 17 Day #7	Reykjahlið	Askja	We'll leave the Myvatn area and drive southward across the Central Iceland Desert toward the Vatnajökull. We'll pass close to the Heatherbreid Table Mountain and may have time for a quick hike to its base. Upon arrival at Askjá caldera, we'll hike to the viti and descend to its warm acid waters. Swimming in the water said to be curative for just about everything so it is encouraged. We'll camp in the caldera.
July 18 Day #8	Askja	Egilsstaðir	This will be a relatively short drive toward the East Iceland coast. We will restock our supplies and camp in Egilsstaðir.
July 19 Day #9	Egilsstaðir	Skaftafell National Park	On our way to Skaftafell National Park, we'll stop at the Jókulsarlon iceberg lake. Those who want to may take a boat ride back to the glacial front. We'll also have many views of valley glaciers descending from the Vatnajókull.
July 20 Day #10	Skaftafell National Park	Skaftafell National Park	This will be a free day to explore the trails of the national park. We'll start of by visiting the columnar joints at Swartifoss but then groups can hike the trail(s) of their choice.
July 21 Day #11	Skaftafell National Park	Kirkjubæjarklaustur	We will travel directly to Kirkjubaejarklaustur and set up camp. In the afternoon, we will climb Laki volcano for a view of Lakigígar, the site of the 1783 fissure eruption. We will also have views of the western side of the Vatnajökull.
July 22 Day #12	Kirkjubæjarklaustur	Landmannalaugar	In the morning we'll visit the beautiful Eldgjá valley and falls. Then we will continue on to Landmannalaugar and its famous geothermal water emanating from beneath a historic obsidian flow.
July 23 Day #13	Landmannalaugar	Landmannalaugar	This will be another free day for exploration and/or relaxation. There is a fairly long hike along the large obsidian flow, through several geothermal areas, to an ice tunnel. It is worth the walk.
July 24 Day #14	Landmannalaugar	Reykjavík	In the morning we will drive by Hekla volcano. If weather permits, we may hike to the summit. We will return to Reykjavík's municipal campground in the afternoon. There will be time for shopping and tourism.
July 25 Day 15	Reykjavík	IcelandAir Gateway City and Home	We will make one final stop on our way to the airport at the Blue Lagoon. This is where the geothermal water used for heating in Reykjavík is released into the ocean. In the afternoon, we'll catch our planes and return to our home countries.

This is a map of our route. The blue numbers and dots mark our campsites and correspond to the day/night numbers shown on the itinerary.

Denver talk

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