Strokkur

Strokkur, "the churn", is the geyser that keeps its promises. Every six to ten minutes, in the Haukadalur geothermal field of south-west Iceland, the blue dome of water in its basin swells, trembles and bursts into a column of boiling water and steam, usually 15 to 20 m high and occasionally twice that. Few natural geysers anywhere erupt so often and so reliably, and so the moment can be watched again and again: the pool drawing down, the glassy bubble rising, the explosion, the drifting cloud.

Its behaviour has not always been so regular. Strokkur is first recorded in 1789, after an earthquake cleared its conduit, and in the nineteenth century its eruptions varied — in 1815 they were estimated at up to 60 m. Around the turn of the twentieth century another earthquake blocked it, and it lay quiet until 1963, when, on the advice of the Geysir Committee, locals cleared the blocked conduit through the bottom of the basin. It has erupted steadily ever since.

Strokkur is the lively neighbour of the Great Geysir, which lies only about 50 m to the north and is larger but erupts far more rarely. Around them the ground steams and bubbles with hot pools, fumaroles and mud pools. The best view is from upwind, where the spray will not drift over you.

Getting there

Haukadalur lies on the Golden Circle route, about 100 km from Reykjavík along Route 35 — a drive of roughly an hour and forty minutes on paved roads. The nearest international airport is Keflavík International Airport (KEF), about 118 km away; Reykjavík Domestic Airport (RKV) is about 82 km away. Entry to the geothermal area is free.