Iceland - Landmannalaugar by Henk Verheyen

About "Iceland - Landmannalaugar"

by Henk Verheyen

About the artwork

Iceland - Landmannalaugar One of the most impressive highland hiking areas can be found in the south of Iceland, about 180 kilometres east of Reykjavík. Landmannalaugar is known for its beautiful yellow-, red-, brown- and grey-green-coloured rhyolite mountains, where you can go on stunning hikes. The 'Laugar' part of the name Landmannalaugar means 'bathing' and refers to the natural hot springs you find here, where you can relax.

The beautifully coloured rhyolite mountains are yellow, red, brown and grey-green. This is the result of acid lava, which otherwise only occurs in large quantities in Iceland at Kerlingarfjöll. Acidic lava contains a lot of silica and is therefore tough, flowing slowly and acquiring a light colour after cooling, ranging from grey or pink but also yellow reddish and green, unlike alkaline lava which, on the contrary, turns dark after cooling. A characteristic feature of rhyolite rock is that even with just a little sunlight, it makes the mountains light up, so to speak, which often makes them look very ?bright? The lava field, Laugahraun, which emerges into the valley, contains much of the rare obsidian, a black glassy rock also called volcanic glass. The Laugahraun's lava comes from several craters. The main crater lies on the slope of the red-coloured Brennisteinsalda mountain. At the foot of the lava field, hot and cold springs spring up. The hot sulphur springs come