Geothermal activities in Iceland

The main high-temperature areas are Torfajökull east of Hekla, Grímsvötn in the Vatnajökull glacier, Hengill near Reykjavík, Kerlingarfjöll, Námafjall near Mývatn, Kverkfjöll on the north side of Vatnajökull and Krísuvík south of Reykjavík.

Low-temperature areas with hot springs are found all over Iceland. There are about 250 geothermal areas of this type with a total of about 800 hot springs.

The biggest hot spring in Iceland, Deildartunguhver in Borgarfjörður, has a flow of about 250 litres of boiling water per second. Some of the hot springs are spouting springs or geysers, the most famous of which is the Great Geysir in Haukadalur in South Iceland, from which the international word geyser is in fact derived. It has been known to eject a column of hot water to a height of about 60 metres. Another renowned geyser in the vicinity of the Great Geysir is Strokkur.