Reykjanes UNESCO Geopark

Reykjanesbær is in the middle of an active volcanic area that has received international certification from UNESCO as a Global Geopark.

The Mid-Atlantic ridge cuts through Reykjanes, and nowhere in the world can plate boundaries be seen in such a physical and clear way. Here, the two plates North American and Eurasian drift apart very slowly each year, but these gaps between the plates come in many can be visible from various natural occurrences either as open springs and ravines or as rows of craters, and Reykjanes is, therefore, a key part of Iceland’s active belt. The energy simmers beneath the earth and your feet.

When the plates slide, space is created for magma that pushes itself up, as can be seen, most recently when the eruption began in Geldingadalur on March 19, 2021, but the eruption was the first in Reykjanes area in over 800 years.

Access to Reykjanes is good and it’s difficult to find a place in the world where you can experience such diverse landscape and geological wonders in such a short amount of time.

Just a stone’s throw from the capital and the international airport, you can find glorious silence in the breathtaking and rugged landscape without any disturbance. There you can experience spitting hot springs, natural pools, craters, caves, gloomy lava formations, endless moss plains, warm streams and a powerful ocean where the ocean waves reach land in all their might and beauty.