The Path Down Almannagjá
Visitors walk down in Almannagjá Gorge in Þingvellir National Park in southwest Iceland. The entire Þingvellir region is located in a rift valley created by the drifting apart of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. The tectonic plates are drifting in opposite direction at the rate of 7 mm (0.276 in) annually. Almannagjá lies along the North American plate on the west side of the valley. It measures 7.7 km long and 64 m wide at its maximum. The gorge’s cliffs lie along a fault with a maximum throw of 30-40 m. Geologists believe the Þingvellir faults (fissures) to be the surface expressions of deeply rooted normal faults. Basalt from cooled lava flows make up the cliffs and valley floor. At the top of the photo, the base of Ármannsfell, a volcanic mountain, dominates the horizon.
This unique geology became the backdrop for important political and cultural events. Iceland’s settlement by The Norse began with the arrival of Ingólfur Arnarson in 874. Historians refer to the next 56 years, as ‘The Settlement Period’. Driven away from a newly united Norway under King Harald Fairhair, settlers from many different clans settled all around the island’s shores. Though the new arrivals shared an ancestral home, religion and language, difference sprang up because each clan had its own leaders and customs. Violence broke out from time to time between these clans both over their beliefs and for the limited resources their new island had to offer. In order to address these issues the people decided to hold a general assembly with members from each clan.
A man called Grímur Geitskör was given the tasks of gathering representatives from each clan and finding a suitable meeting location. As Geitskör was searching for a location, a man who owned a sheltered piece of land accessible from all corners of the country was convicted of murder, and his property turned public. This sheltered place was in the rift valley at Þingvellir. People from all over Iceland could reach the assembly place with no more than seventeen days of traveling. In 930 AD, over thirty ruling chiefs met for the first time at Þingvellir to discuss law on the island and to create a Viking commonwealth. Their meeting place was within the Almannagjá Gorge.
Þingvellir translated literally means "Assembly Plains”. The Parliament, called The Alþing, met at Þingvellir from 930 to 1789 AD. Many important historic and cultural events occurred here while Parliment was in session which makes it one of the most imporant places in Icelandic History. In 1799 the Alþing stopped meeting due to Danish colonialism. The Alþing started meeting again sporadically in 1848 in Reykjavik. It was 1907 before the Alþing started meeting regularly also in Reykjavik. In 1928, just before the 1000 anniversary of the foundation of Alþingi in 1930, the parliament made Þingvellir a National Park. When Iceland declared it independence from Denmark in 1944, the ceremony was held at Þingvellir. Hundreds of thousands visit Þingvellir National Park every year and most of those visitors walk the Almannagjá.
One of the old routes to reach Þingvellir was along the eastern shores of Þingvallavatn (lake). However an earthquake in 1789 caused the land to subside along the lake and the route to be submerged. In 1830 a new route to Þingvellir was started that went down the Almannagjá (gorge). Construction along this route was finally completed in 1907. Þingvellir became Iceland’s first national park in 1928. The road through Almannagjá remained the main public thoroughfare to Þingvellir until the last car was allowed through the canyon on November 1, 1967. At that time, park officials relocated the road to its current position which goes around Almannagjá with side roads to reach locations in Þingvellir. The old road route now serves as a walking path through Almannagjá.
References:
icelandroadguide.com/items/hakid/
guidetoiceland.is/connect-with-locals/jorunnsg/ingvellir-...
notendur.hi.is/oi/geology_of_thingvellir.htm
www.thingvellir.is/en/history-nature/history/
icelandmag.is/article/9-essential-things-know-about-thing...
Info signs in The National Park along the Path
The Path Down Almannagjá
Visitors walk down in Almannagjá Gorge in Þingvellir National Park in southwest Iceland. The entire Þingvellir region is located in a rift valley created by the drifting apart of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. The tectonic plates are drifting in opposite direction at the rate of 7 mm (0.276 in) annually. Almannagjá lies along the North American plate on the west side of the valley. It measures 7.7 km long and 64 m wide at its maximum. The gorge’s cliffs lie along a fault with a maximum throw of 30-40 m. Geologists believe the Þingvellir faults (fissures) to be the surface expressions of deeply rooted normal faults. Basalt from cooled lava flows make up the cliffs and valley floor. At the top of the photo, the base of Ármannsfell, a volcanic mountain, dominates the horizon.
This unique geology became the backdrop for important political and cultural events. Iceland’s settlement by The Norse began with the arrival of Ingólfur Arnarson in 874. Historians refer to the next 56 years, as ‘The Settlement Period’. Driven away from a newly united Norway under King Harald Fairhair, settlers from many different clans settled all around the island’s shores. Though the new arrivals shared an ancestral home, religion and language, difference sprang up because each clan had its own leaders and customs. Violence broke out from time to time between these clans both over their beliefs and for the limited resources their new island had to offer. In order to address these issues the people decided to hold a general assembly with members from each clan.
A man called Grímur Geitskör was given the tasks of gathering representatives from each clan and finding a suitable meeting location. As Geitskör was searching for a location, a man who owned a sheltered piece of land accessible from all corners of the country was convicted of murder, and his property turned public. This sheltered place was in the rift valley at Þingvellir. People from all over Iceland could reach the assembly place with no more than seventeen days of traveling. In 930 AD, over thirty ruling chiefs met for the first time at Þingvellir to discuss law on the island and to create a Viking commonwealth. Their meeting place was within the Almannagjá Gorge.
Þingvellir translated literally means "Assembly Plains”. The Parliament, called The Alþing, met at Þingvellir from 930 to 1789 AD. Many important historic and cultural events occurred here while Parliment was in session which makes it one of the most imporant places in Icelandic History. In 1799 the Alþing stopped meeting due to Danish colonialism. The Alþing started meeting again sporadically in 1848 in Reykjavik. It was 1907 before the Alþing started meeting regularly also in Reykjavik. In 1928, just before the 1000 anniversary of the foundation of Alþingi in 1930, the parliament made Þingvellir a National Park. When Iceland declared it independence from Denmark in 1944, the ceremony was held at Þingvellir. Hundreds of thousands visit Þingvellir National Park every year and most of those visitors walk the Almannagjá.
One of the old routes to reach Þingvellir was along the eastern shores of Þingvallavatn (lake). However an earthquake in 1789 caused the land to subside along the lake and the route to be submerged. In 1830 a new route to Þingvellir was started that went down the Almannagjá (gorge). Construction along this route was finally completed in 1907. Þingvellir became Iceland’s first national park in 1928. The road through Almannagjá remained the main public thoroughfare to Þingvellir until the last car was allowed through the canyon on November 1, 1967. At that time, park officials relocated the road to its current position which goes around Almannagjá with side roads to reach locations in Þingvellir. The old road route now serves as a walking path through Almannagjá.
References:
icelandroadguide.com/items/hakid/
guidetoiceland.is/connect-with-locals/jorunnsg/ingvellir-...
notendur.hi.is/oi/geology_of_thingvellir.htm
www.thingvellir.is/en/history-nature/history/
icelandmag.is/article/9-essential-things-know-about-thing...
Info signs in The National Park along the Path