[DRAMATIC ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
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Narrator: ICELAND, THE LARGEST VOLCANIC ISLAND ON EARTH
OTHERWORLDLY PANORAMAS SCULPTED
Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX
BY THE SPECTACULAR CLASH OF FIRE AND ICE.
[VOLCANOES ROARING]
HOME TO FIERCE VOLCANOES AND POWERFUL GLACIERS,
THE TWO ALWAYS AT ODDS.
IT'S A BUBBLING CAULDRON OF SCALDING STEAM,
[GEYSERS HISSING]
EXPLODING GEYSERS AND BREATHTAKING FALLS,
[WATERFALL ROARING]
WHERE FANTASTIC FIREWORKS OF LAVA
[VOLCANO ROARING]
ETERNALLY BATTLE THE CRUSH OF ICE.
[VOLCANO ROARING]
THIS TITANIC STRUGGLE MAKES ICELAND
THE MOST GEOLOGICALLY MAGICAL ISLAND ON THE PLANET.
[CONTEMPLATIVE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
ICELAND, A LAND OF STARK CONTRASTS
THAT LIES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN,
ABOUT 200 MILES EAST OF GREENLAND,
ON THE EDGE OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE.
JUST 300 MILES WIDE, IT'S ROUGHLY THE SIZE OF KENTUCKY.
THIS LONE, RUGGED ISLAND IS
A PLACE OF EXTREME NATURAL BEAUTY,
[WATERFALL ROARING]
CREATED, IN LARGE PART, BY ITS VIOLENT, VOLCANIC HEART.
[CONTEMPLATIVE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
ICELAND'S 30 ACTIVE VOLCANOES GENERATE
1/3 OF THE WORLD'S LAND-BASED LAVA.
[VOLCANO RUMBLING]
IT'S AN ISLAND ON FIRE.
ON AVERAGE, ICELAND EXPERIENCES
A VOLCANIC ERUPTION EVERY FIVE YEARS.
[VOLCANO RUMBLING]
LAVA HAS LAID WASTE TO GREAT BELTS
OF THE INTERIOR, CREATING TWISTED LANDSCAPES.
[WIND WHISTLING]
JUST 1/5 OF THIS HOSTILE LAND IS INHABITED BY HUMANS.
200 EARTHQUAKES SHAKE THE ISLAND EACH YEAR.
[STEAM HISSING]
ALL OVER ICELAND, STEAM HISSES,
[GEYSER ROARS]
WATER ERUPTS,
AND LAVA SPEWS FROM THE MANTLE,
DEEP BENEATH THE EARTH'S CRUST.
[VOLCANO RUMBLING]
APRIL 2010, EYJAFJALLAJOKULL,
AN 800,000-YEAR-OLD VOLCANO IN THE SOUTHERN REACHES
OF ICELAND, UNLEASHES ITS TERRIBLE POWER.
[VOLCANO ROARING]
FOR 39 DAYS, THE FORMIDABLE VOLCANO SPEWS ASH
TOWARD THE SKY, CREATING A PLUME THAT SOARS
MORE THAN SIX MILES INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.
[VOLCANO RUMBLING]
THE MAMMOTH CLOUD OF ASH CREEPS ACROSS EUROPE,
BRINGING GLOBAL AIR TRAVEL TO ITS KNEES.
Steffensen: EYJAFJALLAJOKULL IS BY NOW OUR MOST FAMOUS VOLCANO,
AND MAINLY OF COURSE BECAUSE OF THE PROBLEMS
THAT IT CAUSED DURING ITS ERUPTION IN 2010,
WHEN PEOPLE WERE SITTING IN AIRPORTS
ALL OVER THE WORLD, CURSING THIS MOUNTAIN.
[VOLCANO RUMBLING] [DRAMATIC PERCUSSION MUSIC]
Narrator: BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ARE LOST
AS THE WORLD IS FORCED TO WATCH AND WAIT.
Steffensen: LOOKING AT IT WAS, IT WAS SCARY.
[VOLCANO ROARING]
THE MOUNTAIN ITSELF IS BIG, AND YOU COULD CLEARLY HEAR
THE EXPLOSIONS AND THE RUMBLE FROM THIS MASSIVE THING.
AND THE PLUME OF ASH, EVEN THOUGH THE MOUNTAIN WAS BIG,
IT WAS DWARFING THE MOUNTAIN UNDERNEATH.
[VOLCANO RUMBLING]
LOOKING AT SOMETHING SO LARGE,
AND THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NOTHING YOU CAN DO
ABOUT IT, IS NOT A GOOD FEELING.
WHEN NATURE TAKES OVER, YOU JUST HAVE TO SIT AND WAIT.
[VOLCANO ROARING]
[CONTEMPLATIVE SYNTH MUSIC]
Narrator: BUT THIS IS A COUNTRY
THAT WAS BUILT BY VOLCANOES.
AND TO THIS DAY, VOLCANOES CONTINUE TO SHAPE THE LAND.
SO WHAT MAKES THIS RUGGED ISLAND
SUCH A COLOSSAL VOLCANIC FORCE?
[GULLS CAWING] [WAVES CRASHING]
WHAT INFLAMES THIS LONELY OUTPOST IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC?
[OMINOUS ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
GEOLOGICAL CLUES ARE EVERYWHERE.
AT THINGVELLIR PLAIN IN THE SOUTHWEST OF ICELAND,
A GIANT GASH IN THE VALLEY FLOOR BEARS WITNESS
TO THE INTENSE VIOLENCE THAT HAS SHAPED THE ISLAND.
Saemundsen: WE ARE STANDING WITHIN A FAULT
THAT HAS BEEN SLOWLY MOVING APART IN THE LAST 9,000 YEARS.
THIS IS A BASALTIC LAVA WALL
THAT'S BEEN TORN APART FROM THIS ONE.
SOME 9,000 YEARS AGO, THEY WERE TOGETHER,
AND AS ALL THESE YEARS HAVE PASSED,
THEY ARE SLOWLY MOVING APART.
YOU THINK ABOUT THE POWERS THAT ARE NEEDED
TO TEAR APART THIS LANDSCAPE.
THAT IS MIND-BOGGLING SOMETIMES.
[WIND WHISTLING] [REFLECTIVE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
Narrator: ICELAND IS QUITE LITERALLY TEARING APART
AT THE RATE OF ONE INCH PER YEAR,
ABOUT THE SAME SPEED THAT FINGERNAILS GROW.
THE ISLAND IS GETTING LARGER.
HERE IN THIS CRACKED VALLEY, SOMETHING POWERFUL IS AT WORK,
A GEOLOGICAL JUGGERNAUT THAT RUNS RIGHT THROUGH THE MIDDLE
OF THE ISLAND, THE MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE.
[WAVES CRASHING]
IT'S ONE OF EARTH'S LONGEST MOUNTAIN CHAINS,
YET IT'S ALMOST ENTIRELY HIDDEN BENEATH THE SEA.
RUNNING ABOUT 10,000 MILES FROM THE SOUTH ATLANTIC
TO THE NORTH, IT'S THE BOUNDARY
BETWEEN NORTH AMERICA AND EURASIA,
TWO PLATES OF LAND THAT WERE ONCE JOINED TOGETHER.
DRIVEN BY FORCES DEEP WITHIN THE EARTH,
THE CONTINENTAL PLATES TEAR APART, MOVING EAST AND WEST.
Saemundsen: WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING INTO HERE IS
BASICALLY THE SIDE OF NORTH AMERICA.
IT'S PROBABLY ONE OF THE FEW PLACES IN THE WORLD
WHERE YOU CAN LOOK INTO THE SIDE OF IT.
[CONTEMPLATIVE SYNTH MUSIC]
Narrator: ON THE BLACKENED LAVA PLAINS
OF THE REYKJANES PENINSULA,
A 50-FOOT STEEL FOOTBRIDGE SPANS A BROAD FISSURE.
THE BRIDGE, NAMED FOR THE ICELANDIC EXPLORER LEIF ERIKSON,
ALLOWS VISITORS TO SYMBOLICALLY WALK
THE DISTANCE FROM EURASIA TO NORTH AMERICA.
FOR MORE ADVENTUROUS EXPLORERS, THERE ARE PLACES IN ICELAND
WHERE THE EDGES OF THE NORTH AMERICAN
AND EURASIAN CONTINENTS ARE WITHIN TOUCHING DISTANCE.
THE SILFRA TECTONIC FISSURE ON THE RIM
OF THINGVELLIR LAKE PROVIDES A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY
FOR UNDERWATER EXPLORERS TO FLOAT BETWEEN CONTINENTS.
IN THE NARROWEST REACHES OF THE FISSURE,
DIVERS CAN TOUCH BOTH NORTH AMERICA AND EURASIA AT ONCE.
[WATER LAPPING]
Vita: THIS IS THE ONLY PLACE IN THE WORLD
WHERE YOU CAN STAND IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC DORSAL RIFT.
IT'S A RIDGE THAT GOES FROM NORTH TO SOUTH
THROUGH THE WHOLE ATLANTIC OCEAN,
AND IT ONLY RISES TO THE SURFACE HERE IN ICELAND.
[WATER LAPPING]
SO ACTUALLY IT'S UNIQUE BECAUSE WE ARE
IN BETWEEN TWO TECTONIC PLATES AND WE ARE STANDING.
NORMALLY, YOU HAVE TO BE 4,000 METERS DEPTH IN THE OCEAN
TO STAND IN A PLACE LIKE THIS.
[CONTEMPLATIVE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
Narrator: THE WATER IN SILFRA IS
AMONG THE CLEAREST AND CLEANEST IN THE WORLD,
[WATER BUBBLING]
THE RESULT OF A REMARKABLE NATURAL FILTRATION PROCESS.
WATER TRICKLES UNDERGROUND FROM A MELTING GLACIER
30 MILES NORTH OF THE DIVE SITE.
THE GLACIAL MELTWATER PERCOLATES
DOWN THROUGH POROUS LAVA ROCK BEFORE IT WELLS UP
FROM UNDERGROUND SPRINGS DIRECTLY INTO SILFRA,
A PROCESS THAT CAN TAKE BETWEEN 30 AND 50 YEARS.
[WATER BUBBLING]
THIS NATURALLY-FILTERED, CRYSTAL-CLEAR WATER HAS MADE
SILFRA ONE OF THE WORLD'S TOP DIVE SITES.
BUT WITH TEMPERATURES THAT HOVER AT 35 DEGREES YEAR-ROUND,
IT'S NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.
[GAS HISSING]
Vita: DIVING IN SILFRA IS NOT EASY AT ALL.
IT'S QUITE COLD AND IT'S QUITE DEMANDING.
YOUR BODY NEEDS TO BURN A LOT OF ENERGY TO STAY WARM.
[WATER BUBBLING]
MORE THAN ONE HOUR IS NOT RECOMMENDED,
NOT EVEN WITH THE BEST OF THE SUITS,
BECAUSE YOU LOSE YOUR HEAT VERY FAST,
IT'S VERY COLD, AND IT CAN BE DANGEROUS.
IT'S A FISSURE WHICH IS VERY NARROW,
SO IT CAN BE A LITTLE BIT CLAUSTROPHOBIC.
ONCE YOU PUT YOUR FACE IN THE WATER AND YOU GET TO SEE
HOW CLEAR THE WATER IS, EVERYTHING IS WORTH IT.
EVERYTHING MAKES SENSE.
[WATER BUBBLING] [GAS HISSING]
[CONTEMPLATIVE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
Narrator: EVIDENCE FOR THE POWERFUL FORCES DRIVING
THESE TECTONIC CHANGES IS EVERYWHERE.
AT GRJOTAGJA, IN THE NORTH OF ICELAND, IN A DEEP ABYSS,
A HOT SPRING BECKONS, HEATED BY MAGMA DEEP WITHIN THE EARTH.
WATER IN THIS SHIMMERING CAVE POOL SIMMERS
AT MORE THAN 120 DEGREES, TOO HOT FOR BATHING.
HOT SPRINGS LIKE THIS ARE PIVOTAL
TO UNDERSTANDING HOW THE ISLAND FORMED.
SOME MIGHTY FORCE IS HEATING THE WATER FROM FAR BELOW.
THAT SAME FORCE HAS PUSHED UP THE SEABED
AND, WITH IT, THE MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE,
MORE THAN A MILE ABOVE THE SEA FLOOR.
[WAVES CRASHING]
BUT WHAT IS IT?
ICELAND SITS ON WHAT'S KNOWN AS A HOT SPOT,
A PLUME OF SCORCHING MOLTEN ROCK
BELIEVED TO BE 100 MILES WIDE AND 400 MILES DEEP.
A SIMILAR PLUME LIES BENEATH THE HAWAIIAN ISLAND CHAIN.
LAVA, ERUPTING FROM THE HOT SPOT,
COOLED AND ACCUMULATED, GRADUALLY BUILDING
AN ISLAND ABOVE THE SEA, THIS ISLAND OF FIRE.
[VOLCANO RUMBLING]
FUELED BY POWERFUL VOLCANIC FORCES
FROM BELOW, ICELAND CONTINUES TO GROW.
BUT THERE IS ONE FORCE POWERFUL ENOUGH
TO CHALLENGE ICELAND'S FIERY HEART, ICE.
ABOUT TWO AND A HALF MILLION YEARS AGO, A MASSIVE ICE SHEET
DESCENDED FROM THE NORTH AND SMOTHERED THE ISLAND.
Aoalgeirsdottir: WHOLE OF ICELAND WAS COVERED WITH ICE
AND THE BIG ICE CAPS, GREENLAND AND ANTARCTICA,
WERE QUITE A BIT BIGGER THAN THEY ARE AT PRESENT.
AND THAT MEANS THAT THE SEA LEVEL WAS
ABOUT HUNDRED, 110 METERS LOWER THAN IT IS NOW
BECAUSE ALL THE WATER WAS STORED IN THE ICE.
Narrator: 1/3 OF THE PLANET
LAY TRAPPED UNDER A BLANKET OF ICE.
THEN, ABOUT 12,000 YEARS AGO, THE ICE SHEET
LOOSENED ITS GRIP AND BEGAN ITS RETREAT.
TODAY, 11% OF ICELAND REMAINS COVERED BY GLACIERS,
GREAT RIVERS OF SLOW-MOVING ICE.
SPREAD OUT, THEY WOULD SMOTHER
THE ENTIRE ISLAND IN AN ICY CLOAK 100 FEET THICK.
ICELAND'S GLACIERS HOLD MORE THAN 800 CUBIC MILES OF WATER,
ENOUGH TO FILL MICHIGAN'S LAKE HURON.
INCH BY INCH, THESE FROZEN MONSTERS
POWER THEIR WAY DOWN THE ISLAND'S MOUNTAINS.
THIS IS VATNAJOKULL, THE LARGEST GLACIER IN ICELAND
AND THE GREATEST GLACIAL MASS IN ALL OF EUROPE.
IT COVERS MOST OF SOUTHERN ICELAND.
THE GLACIER IS SO IMMENSE, IT GENERATES ITS OWN WEATHER.
COLD WINDS BLOW OFF THE ICE CAP, CHILLING THE VALLEYS BELOW.
VATNAJOKULL IS CONSTANTLY TRANSFORMING.
AS IT PUSHES THROUGH THE VALLEY,
IT MELTS IN THE BRIGHT DAYLIGHT,
THEN FREEZES DURING FRIGID ARCTIC NIGHTS.
CREVASSES, CUT OPEN BY FRICTION
AS THE ICE SLUMPS DOWN THE MOUNTAIN, CAN PLUNGE
MORE THAN 100 FEET INTO THE GLACIER'S ICY HEART.
BUT THE CRUSHING MASS OF ICE MEETS
AN EQUALLY POWERFUL FORCE PUSHING EVER UPWARDS.
60% OF ICELAND'S ACTIVE VOLCANO SYSTEMS
LIES UNDERNEATH ITS GLACIERS.
[DRAMATIC ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
AND WHEN THE TWO FORCES MEET,
IT CAN PRODUCE SOME DRAMATIC RESULTS.
[THUNDER CRASHING]
GRIMSVOTN, IT HAS THE HIGHEST ERUPTION RATE
OF ANY VOLCANO IN ICELAND.
[VOLCANO RUMBLING]
IN 2011, IT UNLEASHED ITS FURY
FOR THE FOURTH TIME IN 14 YEARS.
[THUNDER CRASHING]
TORRENTS OF MOLTEN ROCK SURGED THROUGH SHATTERED ICE SHEETS,
HURLING A BILLOWING CLOUD OF STEAM
AND ASH 12 MILES INTO THE SKY.
[THUNDER CRASHING]
BELIEVED TO BE THE MOST VIOLENT ERUPTION
IN ICELAND SINCE THE 1960S, IT PLUNGED
PARTS OF THE ISLAND INTO NEAR DARKNESS.
[VOLCANO RUMBLING]
THE TWO FORCES AT PLAY, FIRE AND ICE,
WHEN MIXED, ARE A POWER TO BE RECKONED WITH.
Steffensen: YOU HAVE THE SUPER-COLD GLACIER
AND THE SUPER-WARM LAVA,
AND WHEN THE ERUPTIONS TAKE PLACE UNDER THE GLACIERS,
FIRST OF ALL, THE HEAT FROM THE ERUPTION
STARTS MELTING THE GLACIER FROM UNDERNEATH.
AND IN SOME CASES, THE ERUPTIONS ARE BIG ENOUGH
AND LAST FOR LONG ENOUGH TO MELT
THEIR WAY ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE ICE.
AND THEN WE HAVE THIS MAGNIFICENT DISPLAY
OF FIRE JUST COMING OUT OF THE ICE.
THEY'RE KIND OF BATTLING EACH OTHER.
[VOLCANO RUMBLING]
[WIND WHISTLING]
Narrator: THE EXPLOSIVE SHOWDOWN BETWEEN LAVA AND ICE
CAN WREAK HAVOC IN OTHER DEVASTATING WAYS, FLOODING,
TRIGGERED BY THE ERUPTION OF A VOLCANO BENEATH A GLACIER.
[VOLCANO RUMBLING]
EYJAFJALLAJOKULL, THE 2010 ERUPTION MELTED THE GLACIER
AND SENT TWO BILLION CUBIC FEET
OF WATER GUSHING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN,
[WATER ROARING]
NEARLY THE VOLUME OF WATER THAT GOES
OVER NIAGARA FALLS IN SIX HOURS.
Thordarson: THE FLASH FLOODS, WHICH ARE KNOWN IN ICELAND
AS JOKULHLAUP OR THE GLACIAL FLOODS,
THEY WILL GO DOWN AND ONTO THE LOWLANDS
AND CAUSE A LOT OF DAMAGE WHEREVER THEY GO.
THEY BASICALLY RUIN EVERYTHING IN THEIR PATH.
[CONTEMPLATIVE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
Narrator: ICELAND'S GLACIAL FLOODS
ARE ENORMOUSLY DESTRUCTIVE.
[WIND WHISTLING]
RAGING TORRENTS OF WATER WASH AWAY ROADS.
AT THE FOOT OF VATNAJOKULL LIES THE TWISTED WRECKAGE
OF A STEEL BRIDGE, WIPED OUT BY GLACIAL FLOODING.
[WAVES CRASHING]
GLACIAL FLOODS CARRY MILLIONS OF TONS
OF DARK VOLCANIC ROCK CALLED BASALT
TO ICELAND'S SOUTH SHORE, RESHAPING THE COASTLINE
AND CREATING STRETCHES OF BEACH AS BLACK AS GUNMETAL.
Thordarson: IT'S BECAUSE IT'S ALL PRODUCED
BY BREAKING DOWN BASALT, WHICH IS A BLACK ROCK.
AND MOST OF THE ROCK, THE MAJORITY OF ROCKS IN ICELAND
ARE BLACK IN COLOR BECAUSE MOST OF IT IS BASALT.
SO WE HAVE THIS DARK COLOR.
I REMEMBER ONE TIME GOING TO HAWAII
AND EVERYONE TALKED ABOUT THE BLACK SAND BEACHES.
"YOU NEED TO GO AND SEE THE BLACK SAND BEACH,"
AND I SAID, WHY?
I'VE SEEN NOTHING BUT BLACK SAND BEACHES IN MY LIFE.
I'M FROM A PLACE WHERE ALL THE ROCKS ARE DARK.
[WAVES CRASHING]
[CONTEMPLATIVE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
Narrator: AT SANDVIK BEACH, TOWERING CLIFFS ARE
HOME TO THOUSANDS OF SEA BIRDS, INCLUDING PUFFINS.
[BIRDS CAWING]
MORE THAN HALF THE WORLD'S ATLANTIC PUFFINS BREED
ON ICELAND'S ROCKY CLIFFTOPS,
LURED BY DENSE SHOALS OF HERRING AND HAKE.
ALTHOUGH THE NORTH COAST OF THE ISLAND
TOUCHES THE ARCTIC CIRCLE,
ITS COASTAL WATERS REMAIN FREE OF SEA ICE.
A WARM OCEAN CURRENT DRIVING UP FROM THE CARIBBEAN,
THE ATLANTIC GULF STREAM,
HEATS THIS PASSAGE OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC.
[DRAMATIC ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
BUT WITH WARMER WATER COMES RAIN.
THIS STRETCH OF COASTLINE IS ONE OF THE WETTEST IN ICELAND,
WITH AVERAGE ANNUAL RAINFALL OF MORE THAN 90 INCHES.
ISOLATED NEAR THE TOP OF THE WORLD, ICELAND IS RAVAGED
BY FIERCE WINDS AND ROILING ATLANTIC WAVES.
THROUGH THE CENTURIES, SCORES OF MARINERS
HAVE DROWNED IN ITS STORMY WATERS.
EVEN TODAY, THERE IS REAL DANGER FOR THE ICELANDERS
WHO HARVEST THESE COLD, DARK SEAS.
FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, ICELAND'S FISHERMEN
HAVE BRAVED THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.
Steffensen: THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE PEOPLE
LIVING IN THESE VILLAGES
AND THE OCEAN IS VERY, VERY STRONG.
IT IS THEIR LIVELIHOOD.
AND SOMETIMES IN SOME AREAS,
ESPECIALLY CLOSE TO THE SOUTH COAST,
WHERE WE HAVE THE ROUGH SURF OF THE ATLANTIC HAMMERING
THE COAST, GOING OUT IN THE BOATS TO CATCH THE FISH
HAS ALWAYS BEEN A BIG CHALLENGE.
THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE SURF SOMETIMES,
AND EVEN TODAY IN THE BIG FISHING BOATS
AND WITH ALL THE TECHNOLOGY, THIS IS OFTEN
A VERY DANGEROUS AND DIFFICULT THING TO DO.
SO THESE ARE TOUGH PEOPLE AND THEY HAVE LEARNED
TO SURVIVE WITH THIS GIANT, THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.
[VOLCANO RUMBLING]
[DRAMATIC CHORAL SYMPHONY MUSIC]
Narrator: THE TECTONIC FORCE THAT DROVE ICELAND
ABOVE THE ATLANTIC WAVES CONTINUES TODAY,
[VOLCANOES ROARING]
AS VOLCANOES ERUPT AND MAGMA FROM DEEP WITHIN THE EARTH
RISES TO THE SURFACE TO CREATE NEW LAND.
ICELAND IS FOREVER BEING REBORN, SOMETHING THOSE WHO LIVE
IN THE SHADOWS OF THE VOLCANOES HAVE LEARNED TO LIVE WITH.
Steffensen: THESE VOLCANOES THAT ARE CLOSE TO WHERE PEOPLE LIVE
ARE MONITORED QUITE CAREFULLY SO THAT SCIENTISTS
AND THE AUTHORITIES CAN PREDICT
IF SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN AND THEY CAN ISSUE WARNINGS.
BUT USUALLY WHEN THEY DO SO, IF THEY DO ISSUE WARNINGS,
THE FARMERS, THEY ALREADY KNOW
BECAUSE THEY CAN JUDGE BY THE BEHAVIOR OF THEIR ANIMALS.
THEY SEEM TO SENSE THIS WAY BEFORE WE DO.
[SHEEP BAAING]
Thordarson: THE GEOLOGY IS ALIVE HERE.
WE HAVE VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS.
YOU CAN WATCH THE LAVA MOVING.
YOU CAN WATCH THE PLUMES COME UP,
AND SO IT SEEMS TO BE ALIVE.
[MYSTERIOUS ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
Narrator: NOWHERE IS THIS LIVING, BREATHING EARTH
MORE EVIDENT THAN HERE, IN THE SOUTHERN LOWLANDS,
WHERE THE EARTH'S INNER FURNACE BOILS OVER.
[WIND WHISTLING]
THIS HEAT POWERS FANTASTIC FOUNTAINS
[GEYSER ROARS]
THAT SOAR INTO THE ICELANDIC TWILIGHT.
[GEYSER ROARS]
THIS TRANQUIL POOL BELIES ITS NAME, GEYSIR,
BUT IT WAS ONCE HOME TO AN EXPLOSIVE GEYSER.
IT WAS THE FIRST NATURAL GEYSER KNOWN TO EUROPEANS.
[DRAMATIC SYNTH MUSIC]
IN ICELANDIC, GEYSA MEANS TO GUSH.
IT IS FROM THIS PLACE
THAT THE WORLD'S GEYSERS TAKE THEIR NAME.
[WATER SPLASHING]
THE NEARBY GEYSER, STROKKUR, IS FAR MORE ACTIVE,
ERUPTING EVERY EIGHT TO 10 MINUTES.
IT EXPLODES FROM VENTS IN THE EARTH'S SURFACE
THAT RUN DEEP INTO THE CRUST.
THESE HYDROTHERMAL ERUPTIONS ARE
THE RESULT OF COLD RAINWATER SEEPING
DOWN THROUGH FRACTURED BEDROCK ONTO HOT VOLCANIC ROCK BELOW.
THE WATER TRAPPED UNDERGROUND IS SUPER-HEATED
TO TEMPERATURES AS HIGH AS 280 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.
IT CONVERTS TO VAPOR THAT WOULD NORMALLY FILL
1,600 TIMES MORE SPACE THAN THE ORIGINAL VOLUME OF WATER.
BUT IT REMAINS TRAPPED UNDER INTENSE PRESSURE.
AS THE STEAM EXPLODES FROM THIS SUBTERRANEAN FURNACE,
IT PASSES THROUGH LIQUID GROUNDWATER NEAR THE SURFACE,
WHICH JETS MORE THAN 60 FEET INTO THE AIR.
[WATER HISSING]
ON THE FLANK OF AN ACTIVE VOLCANO,
STEAMING FUMAROLES HISS INTO THE COLD ATLANTIC SKY.
FUMAROLES ARE VENTS IN THE EARTH'S CRUST
SIMILAR TO GEYSERS
YET THEY EMIT STEAM, NOT WATER.
[FUMAROLES HISSING]
VOLCANIC GASES SUCH AS HYDROGEN SULFIDE
AND COLORFUL MINERALS IN THE GROUND PAINT
THE GEOTHERMAL FIELD WITH AN ALMOST EXTRATERRESTRIAL BEAUTY.
[WIND WHISTLING]
[CONTEMPLATIVE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
[WATER SPLASHING]
THE HYDROGEN SULFIDE RISING THROUGH SURFACE WATER PRODUCES
SULFURIC ACID, STRONG ENOUGH TO DISSOLVE
THE SURROUNDING ROCK AND SOIL TO CREATE BOILING MUDPOTS.
[WATER BUBBLING]
[FUMAROLE HISSING]
ICELANDERS HARNESS THIS ENERGY
BY BORING INTO THE GROUND FOR THE STEAM,
WHICH SPINS TURBINES TO GENERATE GEOTHERMAL POWER.
[CONTEMPLATIVE SYNTH MUSIC]
Steffensen: THE GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANTS THAT WE HAVE PRODUCE
ABOUT 30% OF THE ENERGY THAT WE HAVE IN ICELAND.
OF COURSE, IT'S BRILLIANT TO BE ABLE
TO PRODUCE ENERGY IN A GREEN WAY LIKE THAT.
THERE'S NO OR HARDLY ANY POLLUTION
AND IT'S A VERY GREEN WAY TO KEEP LIFE IN ICELAND GOING.
THERE'S ALWAYS THE DOWNSIDE THAT IN ORDER TO CREATE
THOSE POWER PLANTS, YOU HAVE TO BUILD STRUCTURES
AND YOU HAVE TO DRILL AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE PIPES
ON THE SURFACE, SO THERE ARE MIXED EMOTIONS
WHEN IT COMES TO THESE POWER PLANTS.
[DRAMATIC ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
Narrator: BUT ICELAND IS HARDLY LACKING
WHEN IT COMES TO PRISTINE BEAUTY.
ITS GREAT SCULPTOR, ICE, HAS CREATED
FABULOUS WORKS OF NATURAL ART,
NONE MORE BREATHTAKING
THAN ICELAND'S MAGNIFICENT GLACIAL VALLEYS.
THESE CANYONS FORMED WHEN GLACIERS PUSHED
SLOWLY THROUGH CHANNELS ALREADY CUT BY FLOWING STREAMS.
YEAR AFTER YEAR, DECADE AFTER DECADE, CENTURY AFTER CENTURY,
A GLACIER EATS AWAY AT THE SIDES OF THE ORIGINAL VALLEY,
TRANSFORMING A NARROW GULLY INTO A WIDE AND MIGHTY CANYON.
MELTWATER FROM THE GLACIER NOW FEEDS
THE STREAM THAT FLOWS THROUGH THIS VALLEY.
CLEARLY TOO SMALL TO HAVE CREATED THIS MAJESTIC CANYON,
IT'S KNOWN AS A MISFIT STREAM.
THESE HUMBLE STREAMS MERGE TOGETHER TO FORM
POWERFUL RIVERS, WHICH IN TURN GENERATE
ANOTHER EROSIVE FORCE THAT HAS SHAPED ICELAND,
[WATERFALLS ROARING]
WATERFALLS.
[CONTEMPLATIVE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
ICELAND'S CLIMATE AND TOPOGRAPHY COMBINE TO CREATE
SOME OF THE MOST STUNNING WATERFALLS IN THE WORLD.
ON SOME PARTS OF THE ISLAND, WATERFALLS OUTNUMBER PEOPLE.
IN THIS NORTH ATLANTIC CLIMATE,
SNOW AND RAIN FREQUENTLY DRENCH THE LAND.
[WATERFALLS ROARING]
HIGH IN THE MOUNTAINS, MELTING GLACIERS FEED
FRIGID RIVERS ALREADY SWOLLEN FROM PRECIPITATION.
OVER DOZENS OF MILES, THESE GLACIAL RIVERS
GATHER PACE AND VOLUME.
[WATER ROARING]
[WATERFALLS ROARING]
FINALLY, THEY ROAR OVER ROCKY CLIFFS.
AT SELFOSS, AN ENDLESS FLOW OF GLACIAL MELTWATER
CASCADES OVER THE RIDGE, BATTERING THE ROCKS BELOW.
MORE THAN 30 FEET HIGH, SELFOSS GENERATES IMMENSE POWER.
BUT IT IS A TRICKLE COMPARED TO WHAT LIES DOWNSTREAM.
[WATERFALL ROARING]
DETTIFOSS.
150 FEET HIGH, 300 FEET WIDE,
IT IS THE LARGEST WATERFALL IN EUROPE,
POWERFUL ENOUGH TO FRACTURE SOLID ROCK.
EARLY ICELANDERS CALLED DETTIFOSS,
THE KING OF ALL WATERFALLS.
ON AN AVERAGE DAY, ENOUGH WATER CASCADES OVER ITS CREST LINE
TO FILL AN OLYMPIC-SIZED SWIMMING POOL EVERY FIVE SECONDS
IN WARM WEATHER, WHICH BOOSTS MELTWATER,
OR ON RAINY DAYS, EVEN MORE WATER IS UNLEASHED.
Steffensen: DETTIFOSS IS A MAGNIFICENT DISPLAY
OF THE POWER OF WATER.
IT'S A BREATHTAKING THING TO SEE,
AND WHEN YOU'RE STANDING NEXT TO IT,
NOT ONLY CAN YOU, OF COURSE, SEE IT AND HEAR
THE RUMBLE FROM THE WATER, BUT IF YOU TOUCH
THE ROCKS AROUND IT, YOU CAN FEEL THEM TREMBLING.
[WATERFALL ROARING]
SO THE POWER THERE IS JUST UNBELIEVABLE.
[CONTEMPLATIVE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
Narrator: THE RIVER THAT FEEDS
THE LARGEST WATERFALL IN EUROPE IS IN TURN FED
BY THE LARGEST GLACIER IN EUROPE, VATNAJOKULL,
WHICH LIES MORE THAN 100 MILES SOUTH OF HERE.
[WATERFALL ROARING]
AT THE TOP OF DETTIFOSS, THE FORCE OF THE WATER IS
POWERFUL ENOUGH TO POLISH ROCKS FLAT AND SMOOTH.
AT THE BOTTOM, THE BASIN BECOMES LARGER,
AS RUSHING WATER AND SEDIMENT WEAR AWAY AT THE ROCK,
CAUSING THE WATERFALL TO RECEDE UPSTREAM
AN AVERAGE OF A FOOT EACH YEAR.
Steffensen: AND IT'S SLOWLY CARVING THE CANYON
THAT WE HAVE BELOW THE WATERFALL.
SO, IN TIME, IT'S SLOWLY MOVING FURTHER INLAND,
CARVING THE ROCK THAT IS UNDERNEATH.
SO THAT'S ANOTHER FORM OF ICELAND BEING
[WATERFALL ROARING]
[DRAMATIC SYNTH MUSIC]
Narrator: NOT ONLY HAVE ICELAND'S WATERFALLS SCULPTED
ITS EVER-EVOLVING LANDSCAPE, THEY'VE ALSO PLAYED
A PIVOTAL ROLE IN SHAPING ITS CULTURE.
GODAFOSS, IN NORTH ICELAND, IS CLOSELY CONNECTED
TO ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL EVENTS
IN THE COUNTRY'S HISTORY, THE CONVERSION FROM PAGANISM
TO CHRISTIANITY IN THE YEAR 1000.
ACCORDING TO LEGEND, ICELAND'S LAW SPEAKER,
HIMSELF A PAGAN PRIEST, WAS FACED
WITH A GROWING RELIGIOUS CRISIS
BETWEEN THOSE WHO WORSHIPED THE OLD NORDIC GODS
AND BELIEVERS IN THE NEWLY-ARRIVED CHRISTIAN RELIGION
THE LAW SPEAKER DECLARED ICELAND WOULD BECOME CHRISTIAN.
IN A SYMBOLIC ACT, HE HURLED STATUES
OF THE OLD NORSE GODS INTO THE FALLS,
HENCE ITS NAME, GODAFOSS, THE WATERFALL OF THE GODS.
HERE, WATER JOINS FIRE AND ICE
AS THE GREAT SCULPTORS OF THE ISLAND'S SINGULAR VISTAS.
[DRAMATIC ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
[VOLCANOES ROARING]
IN THE ONGOING CONSTRUCTION PROJECT THAT IS ICELAND,
POWERED BY VOLCANOES CAPABLE OF WREAKING GREAT CHAOS,
SOMETIMES LAVA SPILLS FROM THE EARTH
TO CREATE FORMATIONS SO UNIFORM,
[REFLECTIVE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
SO ORDERED, THAT THEY APPEAR MANMADE.
[WAVES CRASHING]
AT REYNISFJARA, ICELAND'S SOUTHERNMOST BEACH,
THOUSANDS OF BASALT COLUMNS STAND
300 TALL ABOVE THE SLATE-GRAY SAND.
THE QUESTION THAT HAS PUZZLED PEOPLE FOR CENTURIES,
HOW DID A VOLCANO PRODUCE SUCH PRECISE GEOMETRIC STRUCTURES?
THE ANSWER COMES DOWN TO THE PHYSICS OF COOLING.
Thordarson: COLUMNS FORM BECAUSE WHEN THE LIQUID LAVA COOLS DOWN,
IT CONTRACTS, AND SO THE SOLID LAVA, IT HAS A VOLUME
THAT'S ROUGHLY ABOUT 10% LESS THAN THE LIQUID LAVA,
AND SO IT ACCOMMODATES FOR THIS VOLUME CHANGE BY FORMING
THESE JOINTS WHICH ARE DEMARCATED AS COLUMNAR JOINTS.
SO YOU FORM THE COLUMNS BECAUSE OF THIS CONTRACTION,
AND THEY'RE USUALLY HEXAGONAL IN FORM.
[WAVES CRASHING]
Narrator: THIS ASTOUNDING BASALT FORTRESS,
BELIEVED TO BE FORMED DURING THE LAST ICE AGE,
HAS WITHSTOOD EONS OF WEATHERING AND EROSION.
[CONTEMPLATIVE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
BUT ANOTHER LEGACY FROM THE ICE AGE
IS LOSING ITS BATTLE TO SURVIVE.
THE ICE CAP IS VANISHING AT AN ALARMING RATE.
5% OF ICELAND'S GLACIERS HAVE MELTED IN THE LAST 40 YEARS.
EACH YEAR, 11 BILLION TONS OF ICE DISAPPEAR FROM THE ISLAND.
THE GLACIERS ARE ESTIMATED TO BE MELTING
AT A RATE OF THREE FEET PER YEAR.
Aoalgeirsdottir: SO THIS GLACIER IS ACTUALLY MOVING QUITE FAST.
DURING THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS, IT'S BEEN RETREATING
VERY RAPIDLY, SO NOW IT'S FURTHER BACK
THAN IT HAS EVER BEEN IN THE LAST 20 YEARS OR SO.
SINCE EARLY '90S, ALL THE GLACIERS HAVE BEEN RETREATING
AND LOSING MASS QUITE RAPIDLY.
Narrator: SVINAFELLSJOKULL,
ONE OF THE LARGEST OUTLET GLACIERS
AT VATNAJOKULL, ADVANCES DOWN THE MOUNTAIN
AT A SPEED OF 80 TO 100 FEET EACH YEAR.
BUT DESPITE THIS IMMENSE FORWARD PUSH OF ICE,
SUMMER MELTING CAUSES ITS LEADING EDGE
TO RECEDE MORE THAN 130 FEET ANNUALLY.
GREAT SWATHS OF THE VALLEY, ONCE ENVELOPED BY THE GLACIER,
NOW LIE EXPOSED AS VATNAJOKULL RETREATS UP THE MOUNTAIN.
IT IS A GRIM REMINDER THAT THE GLACIER IS DYING.
[CONTEMPLATIVE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
AT THE FOOT OF THE GREAT VATNAJOKULL,
ICELAND'S LARGEST GLACIER, LIES A VAST LAGOON.
HERE, HUGE CHUNKS OF ICE HAVE BROKEN OFF,
OR CALVED, FROM THE GLACIER.
CALVING BEGINS WITH A FRACTURE IN THE EDGE OF THE GLACIER
CAUSED BY EROSION FROM WIND, WATER OR MELTING ICE.
WHEN THE CRACK PENETRATES THE FULL DEPTH OF THE GLACIER,
THE SHEER WEIGHT OF THE ICE TAKES ITS TOLL
AND HUGE BLOCKS BREAK AWAY, CREATING ICEBERGS.
AS TEMPERATURES RISE AND ICE WEAKENS AND MELTS,
MORE AND MORE BERGS CRACK AWAY FROM THE GLACIER.
AS THE ICE SHEET BREAKS APART,
LAGOONS SWELL AND FLOOD THE LOWLANDS.
THESE CAST-OFF RUINS FROM VATNAJOKULL'S DWINDLING ICE CAP
PROVIDE A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE
OF ALL OF ICELAND'S GLACIERS.
Aoalgeirsdottir: WE HAVE DONE SOME MODELING
FOR THE ICELANDIC GLACIERS,
AND TAKING SOME ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT HOW THE TEMPERATURE
IS GONNA INCREASE IN THE FUTURE,
WE SEE ACTUALLY QUITE A BLEAK FUTURE FOR THE GLACIERS.
SO MOST OF THEM WILL PROBABLY BE GONE
IN ABOUT 200, 250 YEARS.
[EERIE SYNTH MUSIC]
Narrator: THE PROSPECT OF A GLACIAL COLLAPSE IS
A DISTURBING ONE FOR THE PEOPLE OF ICELAND.
LOCKED INSIDE THE ICE CAPS IS
THEIR LARGEST RESERVOIR OF FRESH WATER AND POWER.
Steffensen: IF ALL THE GLACIERS WOULD DISAPPEAR ENTIRELY,
IT WOULD HAVE VERY NEGATIVE EFFECT ON OUR WATER SUPPLY,
[WATER LAPPING]
AND NOT ONLY IN FORM OF THE DRINKING WATER THAT WE NEED,
BOTH HOT AND COLD WATER, BUT ALSO THE FACT THAT 70%
OF THE ENERGY THAT WE HAVE IN ICELAND IS PRODUCED
IN HYDRAULIC POWER PLANTS BY DAMMING THE RIVERS.
SO THEY ARE A VERY, VERY BIG PART OF
OR IMPORTANT PART OF OUR LIVES.
Narrator: WERE ALL OF ICELAND'S GLACIERS
AND ICE CAPS TO DISAPPEAR,
[HAUNTING SYNTH MUSIC]
NOT ONLY WOULD IT LOSE WATER AND POWER, BUT IT COULD RESULT
IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT KIND OF CATASTROPHE.
[VOLCANOES ROARING]
GEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FROM THE LAST ICE AGE SUGGESTS
THAT VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS IN ICELAND INCREASED
30-FOLD AFTER THE GLACIERS RETREATED.
SCIENTISTS ESTIMATE A GLACIAL COLLAPSE
COULD LEAD TO A MAJOR ERUPTION EVERY SEVEN YEARS.
[VOLCANO RUMBLING]
ERUPTIONS ON THIS SCALE CAN LEAD
TO LOCAL AND GLOBAL DISASTER.
IN 1783, AN ERUPTION AT LAKI IN SOUTH-CENTRAL ICELAND SENT
A POISONOUS CLOUD OF SULFUR DIOXIDE INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.
THE THICK FOG OF FUMES PLUNGED ICELAND INTO FAMINE,
THEN SPREAD OVER EUROPE AND BEYOND,
POSSIBLY KILLING AN ESTIMATED TWO MILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE.
IT WAS ONE OF THE DEADLIEST VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
IN HUMAN HISTORY.
AS ICELAND'S GLACIERS CONTINUE TO MELT,
ATOP SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS VOLCANOES,
THE THREAT OF ERUPTIONS INCREASES.
SOME GEOLOGISTS BELIEVE A MASSIVE NATURAL DISASTER,
SIMILAR TO LAKI, COULD HAPPEN AGAIN.
Sigurdsson: THERE WILL BE ANOTHER ONE LIKE THAT
IN THE FUTURE, YES.
EVERY NOW AND THEN, ABOUT THOUSAND YEARS APART,
WE GET HUGE ERUPTIONS,
WHICH WILL EVEN AFFECT GREATLY MODERN SOCIETY.
WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE A MUCH BETTER WAY OF
DEFENDING OURSELVES
THAN PEOPLE HAD THEN, WHEN 10% OF THE PEOPLE DIED
FROM THE FAMINE AND THE RESULTS OF THE HAZE.
[VOLCANO ROARING]
BUT THERE MAY VERY WELL BE VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
THAT WILL AFFECT THE WHOLE SOCIETY OF ICELAND,
IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT WILL HARDLY BE HABITABLE.
Narrator: THE VAST LAKI LAVA FIELD, WHICH LAID TO WASTE
MORE THAN 200 SQUARE MILES, IS A REMINDER
OF THE HORROR THAT BEFELL ICELAND NOT SO LONG AGO.
[INSPIRATIONAL ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
IN THIS LAND OF CONTRASTS, WHERE FIRE AND ICE
NEVER CEASE TO BATTLE, LIGHT AND DARK
HAVE THEIR OWN BRILLIANT WAR DANCE.
ON THIS NIGHT, A COSMIC SPECTACLE UNFOLDS,
AURORA BOREALIS, THE NORTHERN LIGHTS.
ELECTRICALLY-CHARGED PARTICLES OF SOLAR WIND COLLIDE
WITH THE EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD, CREATING ONE OF NATURE'S
MOST ELUSIVE AND SPECTACULAR SIGHTS.
ICELAND IS RENOWNED AS ONE OF THE BEST PLACES ON EARTH
TO CATCH A GLIMPSE OF THIS AWE-INSPIRING LIGHT SHOW.
THE SUN RISES OVER A LANDSCAPE LIKE NO OTHER.
[WAVES CRASHING]
BORN OF GEOLOGICAL VIOLENCE,
RISING FROM A GREAT GASH THAT TEARS THE WORLD IN TWO,
AND SEATED ATOP A BOMB OF MOLTEN EARTH,
ICELAND'S ETERNAL WAR OF VOLCANIC HEAT
AGAINST ARCTIC COLD PLAYS OUT,
EXPLODING,
[GEYSERS ROARING]
SPOUTING, HISSING,
[WATER BUBBLING]
BUBBLING, AND CASCADING.
[WATERFALL ROARING]
THIS LAND OF SPELLBINDING CONTRASTS IS
A CONSTANT REMINDER NEVER TO TAKE NATURE FOR GRANTED
ON THIS ISLAND THAT BREATHES FIRE
[VOLCANO ROARING]
AND ICE.