Skogafoss to Pingvellir - Day 7

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Skogafoss to Pingvellir
Day 7

Pingvellir is a national park east of Reykjavik. It is one of Iceland's most important historical site. The first democratic parliament ever established was right here at this park. The assembly came together and the law speaker in 930 AD stood on the "law rock" and orally proclaimed the laws (this was before written laws were established). It was also here that Christianity was adopted in 1000 AD.

This park is also famous because it has become a fissure-ridden rift valley caused by separating North American and European tectonic plates. The country is essentially growing by 3 mm a year from east to west because of these separating plates. It is known as the "continental divide".

Pingvellir Lake is the largest natural lake in Iceland. Water flows from springs and fissures beneath it's surface and sometimes longer distances. Recent lava flows add to the mineral content in the water, thus contributing to the lake's thriving ecosystem. Actually, an old Icelandic proverb says "Fertile is water that runs under lava." This lake is one of a kind, in that it boasts four different subspecies of the trout Salvelinus. The species have evolved over only 10,000 years, which is a short time period for evolution, to adapt to different habitats in the lake.

Although we've encountered our first "typical" unpredictable Icelandic weather, today was an amazing day filled with history and hiking. It was a dreary, rainy day; visibility was low. Also, near the end of our commuting today, the clouds were so low that we actually drove through one. That is an experience I'm not sure I'll ever have again!

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Photos

The Law Rock
Here where the flag is situated is the Law Rock, where the law speaker would orally proclaim the laws of the land. This is where the first democratic parliament was established.

Church
Before measurements were established, the people would measure wool based off of the side of this church.

Comments

[Ashley Anderson]

Driving through a cloud sounds pretty awesome!!

[discoverlife]

Cloud
It was CRAZY! We noticed how low the clouds were and then next thing we knew we were driving through it. It looked like heavy fog with condensation.