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Strokkur ( Icelandic , "churn") is a fountain-type
geyser A geyser (, ) is a spring characterized by an intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam. As a fairly rare phenomenon, the formation of geysers is due to particular hydrogeological conditions that exist only in ...
located in a geothermal area beside the Hvítá River in
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
in the southwest part of the country, east of
Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...
. It typically erupts every 6–10 minutes. Its usual height is , although it can sometimes erupt up to high.


Location

Strokkur belongs to the
Haukadalur Haukadalur ( Icelandic: , from non, Haukadalr , "hawk dale" or "valley of hawks") is a valley in Iceland. It lies to the north of Laugarvatn lake in the south of Iceland. Geysers Haukadalur is home to some of the best known sights in Iceland: t ...
valley area, where various other geothermal feature such as
mud pool A mudpot, or mud pool, is a sort of acidic hot spring, or fumarole, with limited water. It usually takes the form of a pool of bubbling mud. The acid and microorganisms decompose surrounding rock into clay and mud. Description The mud of a mud ...
s,
fumarole A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or other rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...
s and other geysers are located around it, such as the famous
Geysir Geysir (), sometimes known as The Great Geysir, is a geyser in southwestern Iceland. It was the first geyser described in a printed source and the first known to modern Europeans. The English word ''geyser'' (a periodically spouting hot spring) ...
geyser, which lies only to the north.


History

Strokkur was first mentioned in 1789, after an
earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
helped to unblock the conduit of the geyser. Its activity fluctuated throughout the 19th century; in 1815 its height was estimated to have been as much as . It continued to erupt until the turn of the 20th century, when another earthquake blocked the conduit again. In 1963, upon the advice of the Geysir Committee, locals cleaned out the blocked conduit through the bottom of the basin, and the geyser has been regularly erupting ever since.


Tourism

Strokkur and its surrounding areas regularly attract tourists hoping to see the geyser erupt, as it is one of a very few natural geysers to erupt frequently and reliably.


Evolution of the eruption

Each frame is approximately 1/4 of a second apart, for a total of approximately two seconds: Strokkur, Área geotérmica de Geysir, Suðurland, Islandia, 2014-08-16, DD 083.JPG Strokkur, Área geotérmica de Geysir, Suðurland, Islandia, 2014-08-16, DD 084.JPG Strokkur, Área geotérmica de Geysir, Suðurland, Islandia, 2014-08-16, DD 085.JPG Strokkur, Área geotérmica de Geysir, Suðurland, Islandia, 2014-08-16, DD 086.JPG Strokkur, Área geotérmica de Geysir, Suðurland, Islandia, 2014-08-16, DD 087.JPG Strokkur, Área geotérmica de Geysir, Suðurland, Islandia, 2014-08-16, DD 088.JPG Strokkur, Área geotérmica de Geysir, Suðurland, Islandia, 2014-08-16, DD 089.JPG Strokkur, Área geotérmica de Geysir, Suðurland, Islandia, 2014-08-16, DD 090.JPG


See also

*
Geography of Iceland Iceland ( ) is an island country at the confluence of the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, east of Greenland and immediately south of the Arctic Circle, atop the constructive boundary of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge about from Scotland and ...
*
Geology of Iceland The geology of Iceland is unique and of particular interest to geologists. Iceland lies on the divergent boundary between the Eurasian plate and the North American plate. It also lies above a hotspot, the Iceland plume. The plume is believed to h ...
*
Iceland plume The Iceland hotspot is a hotspot (geology), hotspot which is partly responsible for the high volcanic activity which has formed the Iceland Plateau and the island of Iceland. Iceland is one of the most active volcano, volcanic regions in the ...
*
List of volcanoes in Iceland This list of volcanoes in Iceland includes active and dormant volcanic mountains, of which 18 have erupted since human settlement of Iceland began around 900 AD. __TOC__ List Volcanic zones and systems Iceland has four major volcanic z ...
*
Volcanism of Iceland :''The volcano system in Iceland that started activity on August 17, 2014, and ended on February 27, 2015, is Bárðarbunga.'' :''The volcano in Iceland that erupted in May 2011 is Grímsvötn.'' Iceland experiences frequent volcanic activity, ...
*
Old Faithful Old Faithful is a cone geyser in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, United States. It was named in 1870 during the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition and was the first geyser in the park to be named. It is a highly predictable geotherma ...
, another naturally-occurring geyser known for erupting frequently and predictably.


References


External links

* – A picture gallery
''Information and photos of Strokkur''





Live webcam of the ''Geysir'' by Mila.is
{{Authority control Southern Region (Iceland) Geysers of Iceland Volcanic systems of Iceland West Volcanic Zone of Iceland Pleistocene volcanoes Articles containing video clips