Iceland for Tourists Trivia Quiz

Answer: True

The Geysir in Iceland gave its name to all other geysers throughout the world.
In the late 19th century Geysir erupted regularly to a height of 60 feet. Due to earthquake activity and the silting up of the vent the eruptions have become rare occurrences.
However tourists are not disappointed as Strokkur, just a few metres away from Geysir, erupts regularly every four or five minutes shooting water and steam twenty feet into the sky. The whole area is one of great thermal activity, with hot springs and smaller geysers aplenty.
Strangely enough you do not have to pay to see this amazing phenomenon. It is easy to reach by car in the summer although the roads can be very icy in winter. Coach trips from Reykjavik bring tourists out to 'The Golden Circle' on day trips which include Geysir, an enormous waterfall, and the site of the original Icelandic parliament.

Answer: black

The beaches are black due to the layers of volcanic ash covering all the area from the many eruptions of Hekla and other active volcanoes in the vicinity. If you have time to get out to Dyrholaey, the most southerly point of mainland Iceland, there are wonderful photo opportunities here of basalt cliffs, sea arches and sea caves.
You can see black beaches at Eyrarbakki and Stokkseyri just south of Selfoss, within easy reach of Reykjavik, but no basalt cliffs!

Answer: Birch

The birch is the main forest tree in Iceland. When Iceland was first inhabited at least a third of the land was covered by trees. Now only 3% is tree covered. The Icelanders are working hard to plant more trees, both conifer and deciduous. I was expecting to find the land quite barren and I was pleasantly surprised. The interior of the country is without trees and is suffering a great deal of land erosion because of this.
The Icelandic Birch is a very hardy but very small tree. Most seem to be about five feet tall. The Icelanders have a joke about their trees.
Q. What do you do if you get lost in an Icelandic forest?
A. Stand up.

Answer: Geothermal springs

The many geothermal springs in this area are well able to supply hot water and power to the area. In Deildartunguhver 180 litres of boiling water bubbles from the ground every second. This is piped to towns in the southeast. It takes 24 hrs for the water to reach Akranes and in the winter will lose 37 degrees Fahrenheit. Other geothermal springs are used to heat greenhouses in Hveragerdi where most of Iceland's vegetables and fruit are grown. You can generally tell if the hot water comes direct from geothermal springs as the water has a sulphurous smell.
Icelanders enjoy swimming and almost every town has a geothermally heated pool which can be used all the year round.

The most famous geothermal pool is the Blue Lagoon near the International Airport. This is not a natural pool but has been constructed as a leisure centre and uses geothermally heated water which has already been used to generate electricity at a nearby power plant. This is a real must for tourists, although I hear it gets a bit crowded in the summer months - not in February though, when the outside temperature is -10C, then it is great!

Answer: North American and Eurasian

The other names I made up, although Iceland is situated on the Mid Atlantic Ridge, which accounts for the enormous amount of volcanic activity in Iceland.
Iceland is a new country in that rocks have been age assessed as only 20 million years old. When you think that dinosaurs were about 200 million years ago you can see that Iceland is indeed 'young'.
Surtsey an island in the Westman group just off the south coast of Iceland is the youngest land in the world. The island appeared in 1963, the result of an undersea eruption which lasted over four years. The island is being used to study colonisation and is off limits to everyone but scientists.
Thingvellir is easily reached from Reykjavik and is an important tourist site. The 'Althing' the Icelandic parliament met here every year from 930AD to decide on new laws and to be reminded of the existing ones. The meetings were held outside so there is little archaeological evidence to see, but the area has outstanding views over the lake Thingvallavatn and the gorge.

Answer: Hydroelectric power plant

Yes this amazing waterfall was going to fall to hydroelectric power production. There were not many people living in the area at that time, and the government may not have been aware of how beautiful the falls were. Permission was granted for foreign investors to go ahead. Sigridur and her father Tomas Tomasson, the land owners, walked to Reykjavik (over 130 kilometres!) to put their case to rescue Gullfoss. Fortunately they won and Gullfoss was safe. Sigridur is considered Iceland's first tourist guide as she took many tourists to the falls.

The falls are now owned by the nation. You may have guessed that foss is Icelandic for waterfall. If you haven't seen this fabulous sight check it out on Wikipedia, there are some good photos there.

Answer: Dark clear sky

Without a dark clear sky you will see nothing, whatever activity is happening in the way of solar storms and sunspots. Ambient lighting makes it very difficult to understand what you are looking at, whether its street lights or Northern Lights. Although the general understanding is that you need to stay up until midnight at least, the best lights we saw happened between 8.30 and 9.30.

Some Icelanders say that it needs to be very cold, however at the height that the lights are, the ground temperature is immaterial. If there is low cloud you will see nothing even if there is tremendous activity higher up in the sky. We are in a period of low activity now.

As there is an eleven year cycle there should be great sightings in 2011. http://www.gedds.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/ gives you a visual forecast for your region.

Answer: More snow falls in winter than can melt in summer.

It's as simple as that. Too much snow and you get a glacier. The annual precipitation in Southeast Iceland is 4000mm. That would be 4 metres of rain but as most of it falls as snow it will be even deeper. Since 1930 the glaciers have been receding resulting in lots of floodwater on the southern plains.
The greatest fear is that one of the many volcanoes under the glaciers will erupt causing huge amounts of water to engulf the southern plains.
Glaciers are fascinating places but you do need a guide if you are thinking of checking one out. There are ice caves and crevasses which can prove fatal if you are not prepared.
Super jeep tours will take you onto the glaciers safely and in areas you could not reach in a rental car, even a 4x4.

Answer: Lava at the surface cools while lava lower down continues to flow.

Lava tubes are very interesting but rather remote. The one we went in had marvellous icicles like stalactites but what was even more interesting was that there were ice stalagmites growing on the rocks on the ground. The tubes are fairly smooth sided but the solidified lava/basalt is very rough and hard, very different to the limestone caves of Britain. You need to wear good gloves to prevent your hands getting torn to pieces.

Surtshellir is the longest lava tube in Iceland at just over a mile. It is accessible on a day trip from Reykjavik by 4x4 but you will need hard hats and lights if you intend to go any distance inside. The floor of the tube is covered in ice in places and makes progress a bit tricky!

Answer: Road only suitable for 4x4s

The roads in Iceland are great to drive because there is very little traffic except around the capital. There are other hazards to adjust to though. For much of the year the roads will be covered with snow and ice although they will be ploughed regularly. The main road round the island is usually clear of snow even in the winter, this is road 1; it has a tarmac surface.
Other roads may or may not have a tarmac surface, may or may not ford a wide river, may or may not be safe to drive in an ordinary car. In winter or early spring it is necessary to know the state of the roads before you set out. Most hotels will be able to print you out a map of the roads updated every day showing which ones are open and in what condition.
http://www.vegagerdin.is/english/road-conditions-and-weather/south-west-iceland/sw1.html