A few years ago, I visited Geysir Park in West Iceland, a major attraction in one of the most volcanically active places on Earth.

By convention and history Iceland is a part of Europe although this island nation sits on the newest land on the planet — land that’s being formed as the North American and European plates slowly pull apart. It’session the home of the first ebullition spring, the one that gave every other propulsive plume of steam and sulfur its name. Geysir itself isn’t reliable any more, but the park has another star now, a geyser called Strukkor, which means “The Churn”. It erupts every five to ten minutes or so.

The whole hot springs area smells like sulfur, nevertheless that’s not remarkable in Iceland — a great deal of of the landscape is steaming and smells faintly to strongly sulfuric.  Strukkor sits behind a casuallyroped-off area, and it at first it seems like not much is happening — like the gathered crowd is for some reason staring expectantly at gray slabs of rock.  Growing closer, I could hear some gurgling and closer still, I could see the sounds were coming from a crater which seemed to be filled with swirling water, all ringed by a rock wall.

Presently, the water in the center starts to rise into a dome.

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Gulfoss Waterfalls, Iceland

Thingvellir National Park, located in southwestern Iceland, is the original location of the Iceland’s open-air parliament, principal established by settlers from Scandanavia and the British Isles in 930 A.D. The park also features impressive geological formations, including a rift valley and the largest natural lake in Iceland. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site  in 2004.

Iceland’s first formal assembly, the Alþing, was the country’s supreme legislative and judicial authority from its establishment in 930 until 1271. During assemblies, any member in attendance could present his case from atop the “Law Rock,” or Lögberg. From this rock, the Lawspeaker (an by authority elected for three years at a time) presided over the assembly and declared the laws of the land, confirmed the calendar, brought about legal action and made announcements that concerned the undivided nation. Before a law could be written down, however, the Lawspeaker was expected to recite the law from memory from atop the Lögberg for three consecutive summers in a row. A Law Council was a closed group of select chieftains who served as both a parliament and a supreme court.

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