Geysir geothermal area
Home to the original geyser.
This southwestern Iceland region is home to the first geyser known to modern Europeans and is a one of the best known and busiest travel locations in Iceland. This Great Geysir Geothermal Region is approximately 3 km² and is home to heaps of different springs and gersers. The namesake, Geysir sometimes known as The Great Geysir, was the first geyser described in a printed source and the first known to modern Europeans. The English word geyser (a spouting hot spring) derives from Geysir. The name Geysir itself is derived from the Icelandic verb geysa, "to gush", the verb from Old Norse.
Geysir lies in the Haukadalur valley on the slopes of Laugarfjall hill, approx. 1.5 hrs from Reykjavik, which is also the home to Strokkur geyser about 50 metres south. The Strokkur gerser is the most photographed and well known image of Iceland's geysers. Strokkur (the churn) is currently the most energetic spouting spring in Iceland. It spouts every few minutes, sometimes to a height of 40 m, yet generally less than 10-20 m.
