Silfra - The Place Where The Continents Are Separated By Iceland

Saturday 25 June 2016

Silfra - The Place Where The Continents Are Separated By Iceland

Silfra Gorge is part of the Atlantic Rift and the dividing line between the continents of Europe and America and is located in the national park Þingvellir (Thingvellir) in Iceland. Silfra is a popular place for divers, the water is so pure that it can even drink. A notable feature of Iceland that in Thingvellir National Park passes the junction of two lithospheric plates (the North American and Eurasian) and every year, these plates move away from each other by two centimeters. This joint can be seen if you go down under the water in the Silfra ravine (Silfra), which is the main attraction of the park. In the gorge Silfra water is cold (for the entire year is only 2-4 degrees Celsius) and the net, so that you can drink it. The thing is that the water in the gorge appears due to the melting of the glacier on Mount Hofsjokull, and before you get to Silfru it passes all the circles of the natural purification. The gorge is very popular with divers, as the visibility in the water is up to 300 meters, and sailing on it can be touched simultaneously on both parts of the world - Europe and America. Silfra is also striking in its beauty of the underwater world.

The gorge is divided into 3 sections: Silfra Hall (Hall), Silfra Cathedral (Gorge) and Silfra Lagoon (Laguna). When only plunge into the gorge, you will get to the first section, swim this "room", then get into the gorge itself, which is perhaps the most beautiful, is just connect the continents. The depth of this area is - 20 meters, and the length of one wall of the gorge to the other about 200-300 meters. Rowed this site, you find yourself in an underwater lake (lagoon) with a depth of about 2 meters, and about 150 meters in diameter, is the final part of the journey in the valley. flickr/Bernard McManus

For tourists who want to visit the site and dive into the water, we should not forget that the water is cool enough, and prolonged exposure in such cold water is undesirable for the unprepared person. Usually, these people through the gorge tour lasts no more than 25-30 minutes, however, it will be enough to enjoy all the beauty of the underwater world and touch simultaneously the two continents.