The beige sand and the phosphorescent green of the algae add to the color.
Iceland:
Tucked between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, Iceland’s Silfra fissure is one of the world’s most popular diving sites, popular with tourists venturing into its icy waters.
Underwater visibility can exceed 100 meters (330 feet) and the sight of light and shadow is hypnotic.
“When we got into the water, it was …”, Icelandic tourist Brynjolfur Bragason said before stopping.
“It’s unbelievable,” his wife Hildur Orradottir added.
In the heart of Thingvellir National Park, on the edge of one of Iceland’s largest lakes, sunken rock corridors form deep hollows in between the two continents, which move about 2 centimeters apart each year.
The orange reflections are mixed with various shades of blue in the fissure more than 60 meters deep, located southwest of the Atlantic island.
The beige sand and the phosphorescent green of the algae add to the color.
Camille Lund, a French-American tourist, said: “It looks like hair.
Feeling ‘tingling’
The rift and the entire surrounding valley lie on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which runs through the island, making it one of the most active volcanic regions on Earth.
Silfra was formed by an earthquake more than two centuries ago as a result of tectonic drift, and the clear waters come from nearby Langjokull Glacier, the second largest ice cap in the country.
Water moves over several decades through a tunnel of underground aquifers about 50 kilometers long.
Thomas Gov, a diving instructor from Toulouse, southern France, told AFP: “The whole system filters through this volcanic rock… giving us super clear water.”
Soaking in Silfra requires a lot of preparation: dry clothes, diving gloves, swimming cap, mask, snorkel and fins.
This device allows you to stay dry and float peacefully on the surface in water that stays between two to three degrees Celsius (35.6-37.4 degrees Fahrenheit) year-round.
Only part of the face and hands are exposed to cold water.
“You can feel it immediately in your lips: they go numb after a while and it’s like a tingling,” says New Yorker Ian Zavatti, 13, standing next to his father.
Snorkeling is the most popular activity, but the more experienced and certified can scuba dive to a depth of 18 meters.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a collaborative feed.)
