Iceland is one of the most recently formed places on earth. That is because it is so volcanically active. Steaming lava fields are common. So are inactive lava fields, glaciers, hot pools, and geysers.  This makes Iceland unforgettable.   Much of that elemental handiwork is the result of the awesome power of volcanoes and tectonic plates.

What really astounded me is how Iceland makes visible for all to see, how tectonic plates operate. The earth’s surface comprises a number of massive plates. There are thought to be 7 major plates and many more minor plates. Those tectonic plates are not static. Instead those tectonic plates float on the mass of superheated magma beneath them. These plates, for example, have caused the earth’s crust in many places to form huge mountain ranges. The earth is not inert.  It is a living moving thing.

Nick Eyles and Andrew Miall have described these plates very poetically:

We now know that planet Earth is a giant engine fuelled by the heat generated by the radioactive decay of uranium, thorium, and potassium in its interior. In effect, Earth is a giant nuclear reactor. We live on its thin wet and brittle crust that is broken into rigid plates like panels on a soccer ball. These plates move over the Earth’s surface atop giant convection currents stirring deep within the mantle. Carrying continents as passengers, these migrating plates crate a dynamic, always changing jigsaw puzzle as one plate interacts with its neighbours. The term plate tectonics refers to the creation of new plates and inexorable destruction of old ones. .[1]

Scientists are still trying to unravel the history of  how the continents have moved, but what we have learned so far is mind-boggling. Newfoundland and Northern Africa used to be locked together.

Tectonic plates move, but they don’t move fast. They move at about the speed  of 2 cm (0.75 inches) per year which is about the speed that your fingernails grow.

The history of how the science of plate tectonics developed is deeply fascinating. As Eyles and Miall explained,

“The concentration of radioactive elements in the mantle (such as uranium, thorium, and potassium) is very small but the mantle’s volume is so large that even after 4.5 billion years, more than 10 trillion Watts of power continues to be produced radioactive decay every second! Cooling of the Earth’s surface and heating of the interior forces motion in the mantle—a process known as mantle convection—where enormous slabs of cool dense rock sink deep into he planet below subduction zones. In addition to its own radioactive heating, the mantle is warmed by trillions of Watts of heat released from its underlying core. The core’s own heat produces 200-kilometre thick hot layer at the base of the mantle …. Gigantic columns of hot buoyant material known as plumes, rise from this layer and slowly creep upwards towards the surface. Diamonds ejected to the Earth’s surface through kimberlite pipes originate in this layer.

Convection of the Earth’s deep interior drives the relentless motion of tectonic plate of the Earth’s crust.  Despite its long history, the Earth has an enormous reserve of heat yet to be realized: consequently, the process of mantle convection, and thus plate tectonics will continue for billions of years to come”.[2]

Most geological activity around the world is concentrated along boundaries between plates as, for example, the famous Pacific Rim. This is caused by the dynamic interaction of one plate with an adjacent plate or plates.

Volcanoes and earthquakes are symptoms of these moving plates colliding with each other at the place where tectonic plates meet such as the Pacific Rim. The boundaries of the plates can be convergentor divergent. Where the plates move together they are called convergent plates. Where the plates move apart they are referred to as divergent plates. Where plates are divergent they tear apart and then magma rises to the surface of the earth at that place. As a result this magma forms a new crust of the Earth. Where the edge of one plate the edge of one plate is forced underneath another plate mountains can rise up.

Iceland straddles a divergent boundarycalled the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates are being pulled apart. We saw that clearly in Pingvellir where a UNESCO world heritage site has been declared as a result of that and its unique contribution to world culture (the world’s first parliament). It was astounding to see. According to our guide AO this and Africa are the only two places on the planet where this can actually be seen as clearly as this.

Pingvellir is the place where the two halves of Iceland and a good part of the part world, are breaking apart. The Eurasian and North American tectonic plates tear apart right here.

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge actually runs right across the island from the southwest to the northeast. I believe that some day, as a result Iceland will be split apart. This ridge is marked by a belt of volcanic craters, hot springs, steam springs, solfatars (areas of high temperature activity) and earthquakes.  Frankly it always felt as if a volcano would erupt at any moment or an earthquake would make its presence felt. This belt is about 40 km (25 miles) wide in the north and up to 60 km. (40 miles) across the south. About 25% of Iceland is covered by this belt. It is everywhere.

The lava plain of Pingvellir is covered in wild flowers in the summer and we were very pleased to enjoy and photograph those flowers. We actually walked right through the place where the world seems to be splitting apart! As Insight Guide to Icelandputs it,

This is also a spot where the two halves of Iceland—the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates—are tearing apart.  Aerial photographs show that the great crack of Almannagjá (everyman’s chasm) on whose flanks the Alpingi was held, is just one fissure in a huge series running north east like an ancient wound through the plains. Occasional earthquakes have reshaped the site: a quake in 1789 caused the plain to drop about 1 metre (3ft.).[3]

As part of this process they created a commonwealth Alpingi in 930. This was the first Parliament in the world and the Icelanders are justifiably proud of it

[1]Nick Eyles and Andrew Miall, Canada Rocks, (2007) p. 23

[2]Nick Eyles and Andrew Miall, Canada Rocks, (2007) p. 27

[3]Insight Guides:Iceland(2017) p. 170

Our guide, A.O  pointed out how Iceland was coming back from their recession that was brought about when their 3 major banks failed. Proudly, he said that Iceland was the only country to have paid back its IMF emergency loans. He said that now the country was back in a big spending mode. I had already noticed that cranes were omnipresent.  I hope that this spending does not mean that another bust will follow the current boom. I remember what John Kenneth Galbraith had said, “A balloon never deflates in an orderly fashion.”

In 2008 the world suffered a major recession as a result of reckless actions by bankers around the world, but particularly in the United States. Canada was actually one of the countries that largely escaped it except to the extent that Canada is an exporting country and its major trading partner was mired deep in it.          Iceland suffered the crisis more directly. Its banking system was not anything as strong as the Canadian system. It was even weaker than the American banking system. The problems of Iceland occurred as a result of trying  trying to mimic the feats of neo-liberalism economics around the globe.  It paid a heavy price for that. As Richard Partington of the Guardian reported,

“The problems came as the country began to emulate the neoliberal policies of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher by cutting taxes to stimulate private investment throughout the early 2,000s. Inflation soared and the central bank was forced to use dizzyingly high interest rates to keep control, jacking them up to 15.5% in the months before the crash.”

         As a result of such interest rates money flowed into Iceland from around the world. Everyone wanted a piece of the action, driving up inflation even more. After all these interest rates could not be beat anywhere. Yet the lenders in Iceland were not satisfied. They never are. They wanted more business. With funding from the financial markets Iceland’s banks went on a spending spree.  They finance the acquisition of foreign firms, property and football teams.  As a result the Icelandic banks were “taking their assets to about 10 times the size of the domestic economy.”

Because Iceland is such a small country, about half the population of Winnipeg, its currency fluctuates wildly. This was not a good situation to be in, when the world financial system came close to collapsing. As Partington explained,

“When the global economic storm of 2008 landed, with the US sub-prime bubble bursting and the world’s banks ceasing to lend to one another for fear they would never be repaid, Iceland’s big three lenders–Kaupthing, Glitner, and Landsbanki–had debts worth more than six times national annual output. They quickly came crashing down.”  Economist Jessica Hinds said “Even compared to other very highly financialiced centres such as Luxembourg or Singapore, Iceland’s looked ridiculous.’

When this happened in other countries, most notably the United States, their government stepped in to save the banks, their executives, and even their shareholders and depositors from financial ruin in order to preserve the financial system.  Many thought this was wise, at the time. The policy was started by George W. Bush and Barack Obama was already waiting the wings as the heir apparent and he too agreed. Bush and Obama both thought the American banks were “too big to fail,” so American and world taxpayers paid more than a trillion dollars to rescue them even though they had caused the problem in the first place by their reckless banking and business arrangements. As we all know those bankers quickly took advantage of the largesse of American taxpayers.

Iceland took a different approach. As Partington reported, “But rather than stepping in with taxpayers money like the British and Americans did, the Icelandic government lets its banks go bust. Unlike the complex UK economy and its globally significant financial system, so the argument went, relatively small Iceland could afford to do so.”

In the US and Europe many people, including those who later supported Donald Trump did not understand how the government would rescue fat bankers and let ordinary people suck socks. Thousands of Americans lost their homes. Thousands lost their jobs. It was horrible, except for comfortable bankers who accepted the government generosity , and soon started paying themselves lavish bonuses again. Very few restriction were placed on the bankers who had nearly caused  the financial ruin of everyone. Like pigs at the trough, they were more than happy to except the bailouts and pay themselves huge bonuses for a job well done. Ordinary taxpayers were mystified how this could happen. They should not have been surprised. The world economies are run by the wealthy for the wealthy. It is hardly surprising that they managed to rescue their own privileged positions with such ease while ordinary citizens suffered.  In Iceland “the banks were not regarded as too big to fail but, says finance minister Bjarni Benediktsson “too big to save.”

Things in Iceland were tough–for a while.  Iceland went to the International Monetary Fund for a bailout loan of 2.4 billion dollars. That is equal to about $7,000 for every man woman and child in Iceland. Then Iceland imposed capital controls to keep that capital in the country. That made sense. The króna lost half its value in the first 3 years after 2008. Its GDP dropped precipitously by 15%.  This was “the biggest contraction recorded by a wealthy economy during the crisis.”

Many thought Iceland was doomed. It was not. It recovered. Having come through the crisis a decade ago. Its economy soon revived. Tourism led the way. Tourist numbers rose by about 25% each year after 2010, reaching 2.2 million in 2017. Today things look pretty good, economically, in Iceland. Iceland took a different approach and is happy it did. Perhaps we could all learn something from Iceland. Whats good for the banks is not necessarily good for Iceland, or any other country.

I don’t know if the rabbit is Iceland’s most dangerous mammal, but it could be.  Really Iceland has no dangerous animals. In fact the only land based Icelandic mammal to predate human settlement is the Arctic fox which is believed to have crossed to Iceland over the ice during the last Ice Age. Mercifully it even has very few insects. The midges (very tame by Manitoba standards) can be pesky only because of their vast numbers in only a few places. Most of the island is spared. The way I explain it is that the climate is so bad it keeps the insects away.

Actually as everywhere, the most dangerous animal, by far is Homo sapiens—Us. this guy in particular–J.P he is mad. Watch out. He is determined to enjoy life wherever he is.

Our next stop Immediately after Vik  was very interesting. It was only a few miles down the road. In fact it was on the beach just past the 4 pillars. This was called Reynisfjara.

It surprised me that this place was not even mentioned in my Guidebook. How could that be? Reynisfjara is a world-famous black-sand beach found on the South Coast of Iceland, just beside the small fishing village of Vík í Mýrdal (Vik).  There were huge basalt sea stacks with  roaring Atlantic waves and stunning panoramas, Reynisfjara is widely considered to be the most beautiful example of Iceland’s black sand beaches. In 1991, National Geographic voted Reynisfjara as one of the Top 10 non-tropical beaches to visit on the planet. It is really the same beach as Reynisdrangur that we had just passed. It is all connected. This time we came close to the stacks and walked on the black sand beach.

 There were also basalt columns that reminded me of Giant’s staircase in Ireland. Facing the sea was a huge natural pyramid made of basalt columns that looked like a staircase to the sky. This basalt cliff is called Gardar. The rocks are nearly perfectly shaped. It is difficult to conceive how nature could do this. After all nature never works in a straight line. Nature meanders! I think there is a lesson there for my friends who hate to meander. So many of my friends always want to get “there” as soon as possible. Perhaps this is why Chris calls me “a meanderthal.”

The symmetrical columns were shaped when many years ago, lava flowed out and then cooled and contracted. The slow speed at which the lava cooled made it crack and create these near hexagonal forms. This process is called columnar jointing. Such columns can be found at other places in Iceland such as Svartifoss waterfall or Dettifoss waterfall. The process is interesting but I decided not to include it in this post.

There are some very similar names for some of the sights. The tallest of the pillars reach as high as 66 metre. The black sand beach is literally made of lava. It is not a tanning beach. After all how often can you tan in Iceland? It was created by lava flowing into the sea which cooled it almost instantly.Reynisfjara is not a fine sand beach. It is actually small black pebbles of varying sizes. Like so much of Iceland., it was rugged and wild.

I also enjoyed looking the opposite direction away from the pillars. There was a pierced rock that reminded me of Perce Quebec. We were told that one brave flyer flew threw the hole in the rock 3 times.

When we were done we drove by another lovely church. Iceland has so many of them.