Source: BBC
By Melissa Hogenboom
Standing on a high vantage point at Thingvellir Park, I overlook a vast rocky, snow-covered rift valley.
Fissures and cracks scar the landscape, filled with water so clear I can see hundreds of coins winking at me from several metres below, representing the cumulative wishes of visitors over the years.
These cracks in the land were not always there. Forces from below have slowly broken the rocks apart over thousands of years.
The largest “crack” actually marks the gradual separation of two continental plates, a dramatic example of the evolving landscape of Iceland.
It always struck me that rocks are incredibly strong, unbreakable almost. But walking around this park leaves a strong impression of how fragile and changeable our Earth really is.
I ask geologist Freysteinn Sigmundsson from the University of Iceland about this. His answer surprises me.
All the physical movements in nature we see on Earth’s surface are extremely feeble compared to what is happening deep underground.
Add some intense heat into the mix and the processes slowly ripping apart the landscape at Thingvellir are the same forces that contribute to the eruption of volcanoes and earthquakes around the country.
These create strange flows of magma that scientists are still trying to understand.
Categories: Earth, The Muslim Times