Landmannalauger

On Wednesday afternoon we went to Landmannalauger for a hike, soak and final hot spring sampling. The region has fantastic rhyolite that is multicolored. The main dome is ~200m above the terrain. The region is still active and there are fumeroles and basaltic flows on the flanks of the dome. Additionally, the area has some very nice hot pools where the geothermal water flows into a cold water river. Our choices for the afternoon were to go on a short hike and soak in the pool or go on a longer hike while the other group was sampling. I chose the long hike hoping I would have time to get a soak at the end.

The landscape felt like we were in a Lord of the Rings movie. So beautiful!















Heart shaped fracture in the a rock on the hike








The hike turned out to be a bit strenuous. 200m climb in 5km. At the top we were a bit worse for the wear, but were rewarded with gorgeous views and Twix bars that Tuk had hiding in his pack....Need a minute?
























Parsvakonasana


























Basaltic flow that appears to have its source on the flank of the rhyolite. We had trouble getting a good answer as to the geologic history of the eruptions.









Group AB Extreme at the rhyolite peak. Taken with my trusty Gorillapod wrapped around a rock. ( I hope Joel appreciates how many scientists are going to purchase one of these because he gave me one!)









Basalt flow on the flank. Aaron for scale. Shortly after this he pelted me with a snowball and it was on!











Sulfur crystals on the fumerol.













Green and deep blue algae in the river upstream from the hot pool. When we got down from the mountain and after we had finished sampling we had only 30minute before the bus was scheduled to leave. I set my watch for 10minutes and quickly changed int my bathing suit for a quick soak in the ~110F soothing waters (no algae mats here!). A perfect end to the hike.