Þríhnúkagígur
Þríhnúkagígur is a volcanic crater in Iceland whose last eruptions occurred 4000 years ago.
location
It is located on the Reykjanesskagi peninsula , about 15 kilometers south of the capital Reykjavík and about 4 km west of the Bláfjöll ski area.
Volcanism
Þríhnúkagígur is part of the Brennisteinsfjöll volcanic system .
It belongs to the group of Þríhnúkagígar , two of which are craters and the third is a hyaloclastite cone - it is the northeasternmost of the craters and (probably) the only crater in the world that belongs to an active volcanic system and whose dyke is accessible.
This is not the magma chamber itself, but a cave that was formed by the eruption channel below the main crater. This was climbed for the first time by Árni Stefánsson in 1974. In 1991 the magmatic conveying channel was researched and measured in more detail.
The interior of the volcano is now accessible via a gondola that was built as part of a scientific expedition in October 2010. When researching the chamber one hopes to gain new knowledge regarding the exploration of volcanism.
description
The crater opening measures 4 × 4 m. Underneath is the chimney, a 120 m deep bottle-shaped cavity. The cave measures 48 × 60 m at its bottom.
Tourism and nature protection
In 2012, a small number of tourists were allowed to explore the chamber by gondola. Whether these visits should be continued, however, was decided after this phase, as it was not yet possible to assess the impact that tourism would have - especially with regard to the environment. Currently (as of 2018) tourists can book a sightseeing tour of around half an hour, with a maximum of 7 visitors per gondola ride and a maximum of 21 visitors at any one time in the cave.
The crater group has been under nature protection since 1973.
See also
Web links
- Holger Fröhlich: Thrihnukagigur: In the mouth of the dragon. In: zeit.de. June 28, 2012 .
- Michael R. Hudak: Insights from inside the volcano. Genesis and eruptions of THRÍHNÚKAGÍGUR VOLCANICS, Reykjanes peninsula, Iceland. A Thesis in Geosciences . The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School Department of Geosciences, May 2016 (English, psu.edu [PDF; 7.6 MB ]).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Íslandshandbókin. Náttúra, saga og sérkenni. 1. bindi. Edited by T. Einarsson, H. Magnússon. Örn og Örlygur, Reykjavík 1989, p. 97.
- ↑ a b c Þríhnúkagígur. Náttúrufræðistofa Kópavogs, May 5, 2004, archived from the original on July 14, 2015 ; Retrieved September 10, 2012 (Icelandic).
Coordinates: 63 ° 59 ′ 54 " N , 21 ° 41 ′ 56" W.