![]() ![]() In 1930 water from boreholes drilled into geothermal springs in Laugardalur, just east of the capital city of Reykjavik, was piped to Austurbaer primary school about two miles (three kilometers) away. Historically, Icelanders used Earth's heat directly for washing and baking the "hot spring bread" known as hverabrauth. And it is that activity the Icelanders are trying to tap. This constant generation of new crust makes the country one of the most geologically active on Earth. Plus, nowhere else other than the Great Rift Valley in Africa is seafloor spreading visible on land, says Richard Hey of the University of Hawaii. It possesses two of the traits dearest to geologists in search of exploitable geothermal power, according to power company Reykjavik Energy: enormous underground reservoirs of water that are continually renewed by levels of annual precipitation that range as high as 177 inches (450 centimeters) over Iceland's glaciers, and shallow plumes of magma that heat the deepest reaches of these reservoirs to temperatures in excess of 750 degrees Fahrenheit (400 degrees Celsius). The island itself is basically a blister of porous basalt at the crack in Earth's crust where the North American and Eurasian plates are pulling apart. Slide Show: View Iceland's Majestic Geothermic Scenery From the warm water that heats this capital city to the "Blue Lagoon," Iceland is dotted with efforts to harness the volcanic power beneath its rugged and often stark surface. Sturlusson's modern-day descendants are striving to follow his example, especially the president, Ólafur Grímsson, who travels the world extolling the virtues of geothermal power. It's about 15 feet (4.5 meters) across, perfectly round, paved with gray and brown basalt tiles, and as warm to the touch as it was when Snorri built it almost a thousand years ago. ![]() That pool, recently restored, still sits atop a grassy hill in the town of Reykholt. That's because this original Icelander tapped Earth's heat for a pool in his backyard, according to the medieval Icelandic Sagas. REYKJAVIK, ICELAND-Snorri Sturlusson is the first name in geothermal development here. ![]()
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