The Icelandic Strokkur

2001/01/02 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Geologia

Although its name indicates it, Iceland, located within the Arctic circle, is not the land of perpetual snow. In fact, Iceland is a land of fire and ice.

Although Iceland has few natural resources, geysers and thermal springs, such as the one shown in the image, are used as geothermal energy sources. In the world there are less than 750 geysers. For the formation of the geyser, in addition to having a lot of water, much heat and special soil characteristics are needed.

About 85% of Iceland's 300,000 inhabitants use geothermal energy to heat their homes. In addition, they do not need large food imports, as they can plant everything they need in geothermally heated greenhouses.

The Strokkur geyser in the image is located in southeast Iceland and sends water every 3 minutes at an approximate height of 20 m.