Tectonic plates, two great waterfalls in Oxararfoss and massive, thundering Gullfoss, a small area of thermal pools with a geyser, and our first volcanic crater of the trip.
A day of dodging showers as we left Reykjavik and visited some of the natural wonders to the east before heading south to the coast.
Excellent pick-up for our rental car by Avis meant we had a good start and the roads are very easy so in no time we were parked in Thingvellir National Park and walking to Oxararfoss, the first of many waterfalls we were to see in Iceland.
The waterfalls all have something special and this one was tumbling over a cliff which continues south west to the Almannagja fissure. The great rushing waters of the Oxara river are shot through with green as the waters speed over the edge. Apparently it had rained every day for a month and this made for spectacular amounts of water in the falls.
Thingvellir is the site of the Alping. Established in 930 AD this was where outdoor meetings of the parliament were held and important decisions on all aspects of life in Iceland made.
The Oxara river continues south west of Oxararfoss to the Almannagja fissure. The Eurasian and North American tectonic plates are tearing themselves apart in this region resulting in numerous dramatic fissures.
Near here booths were set up for the yearly two week Alping in summer. These were temporary dwellings with low rock and turf walls covered with a fabric draped over a wooden frame.
The Drekkingarhyur pool on the Oxara was used to punish women by drowning. They were tied up in a sack, pushed out into the pool and held under water. Eighteen women were drowned here and an information board at the site lists their names.
The area around the Alping, where trials were held, has many places with names related to terrible punishments: Galgaklettar - Scaffold Cliff, Galgi - scaffold, Hoggstokkseyri - Execution Block Spit (beheadings), Brennugja - Stake Gorge where witches were burned at the stake, Kagaholmi - Whipping Islet where convicts were probably whipped and branded.
Geysir is the original hot water geyser - hence the generic name! The water jet is now dormant but once erupted to a height of around 120m.
Nearby is the much smaller Strokkur which erupts every 15 minutes or so, 15-30m into the air.
The geysers are situated in a thermally active area with bubbling pools, sometimes quite colourful.
A magnificent waterfall on the Hvita River thundering in two stages down 32m to drop into a narrow canyon.
As we left, fortunately when we were on the footpath back to the car and not while we were on the slippery rocks at the edge of the waterfall, a strong wind came up and the heavens opened. We got absolutely drenched, and would have been soaked to the skin if not for the waterproof hiking trousers we'd bought in Reykjavik!
We drove south from Gullfoss and out of the rainstorm to the volcanic crater Kerid. This volcano erupted 6500 years ago and the crater now contains a vivid green lake.
After walking around the rim of the crater we returned to the car and headed south and east to our hotel north of Hella.