Seltún Geothermal Area in Iceland Delights With Geothermal Activity and a Mosaic of Brilliant Colors
Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland is the first place you will see when arriving to the Land of Fire and Ice! Keflavik Airport is on the Reykjanes Peninsula and is about 45 minutes from Iceland's capital city Reykjavik. Sometimes in the hurry to get to Reykjavik and beyond, visitors can overlook the treasures on the Reykjanes Peninsula. However, Reykjanes has treasures all its own including the
Seltún Geothermal Area.
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| A boardwalk and overlooks give you quite the view of Seltún! |
The Seltún Geothermal Area contains both hot springs and bubbling mud pools. You will immediately notice the area is alive with steam and the little pops and ripples of bubbles.
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| Hot steam, springs and bubbly mud pools bring Seltun alive. |
You will walk through the area on boardwalks and up stairs. It is important that you stay on the designated path in order to prevent injury due to steam, eruptions and hot springs. You will notice the smell of sulfur and indeed there were sulfur mines here until the 1880's.
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| Brilliant colors due to reactions at Seltún meld together. |
The brilliant reds, browns, greens and yellows have resulted from the sulfur interacting with other minerals as well as deposits from geothermal solutions. Seltún is quite a mosaic of colors and geothermal processes that I would like to visit again to see if I notice any changes or pick up on something I did not notice before. There have been a couple of explosions at exploratory drill holes over the years also altering the landscape.
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| Little ponds add to the landscape at Seltún. |
Seltún is very easy to get to when visiting the Reykjanes Peninsula. Thus, the geothermal area can be an easily and intriguing add on to a variety of trips including the Blue Lagoon as well as on your way to and from the airport. Seltún is such a beautiful spot and the melding of geothermal elements and colors certainly elicit wonder!
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