Þingvellir & Surroundings - 1st August 2003

Þingvellir & Surroundings, 3/18: The North American continental plate rising above the edge of the European continental plate

Žingvellir is sited on a visible part of the continental rift, where the end of the European continental plate is slowly drifting away from the North American continental plate, at a rate of around 15mm per year. As the plates are separating, new land is created in between them as lava is forced up, meaning there is a valley now in between the edges of the continental plates, ranging from 3 to 20 metres deep and around 10-20 metres wide.

This picture, taken from the European plate (where the carpark is) shows the North American plate rising up above the edge of the European plate.

page created: 16th August 2003 | updated: 7th November 2005