Iceland's "Narrow Dark Path": a journey through Lambafellsgja, a noneruptive tectonic fissure

[@ebo360]

It’s awesome having another geologist in Iceland wandering around. We were there last year, and around every single corner is another geologic wonder. Not really geology, but to get a real impression of how deeply that moss can cover the landscape you have to travel further along the south coast. There are older lava flows you drive through that have moss coatings a couple feet or more thick. It makes the entire landscape look like something from a Dr Seuss book. My understanding is that moss is the first thing to start growing on new lava, and you can get a rough idea of how old a flow is by how thick that moss has gotten. Hope you share more videos of other areas around the peninsula!

[@shawnwillsey]

Yes, I've also visited many other areas including the south coast with its thick mat of moss. And there will be several more videos dropping over next few weeks so stay tuned.

[@cherylwood5202]

Thank you! Awesome adventure there. Made me a little woozy when you looked over the edge from the hill! Not sure I would have been able to do that. Look forward to looking at more of your nice videos.

[@shawnwillsey]

Mostly used the selfie stick so it wasn't as spicy as it might have looked.

[@hatchettchris]

You do great work. Thank you for that

[@alaskajdw]

Fascinating thank you sir 👊

[@Aw_tig]

Wow very interesting. Moss is also amazing it can grow pretty much anywhere and over many many years become thick. I believe in some areas of Iceland it is protected and they go out and repair some damaged areas. Be careful walking on areas where there is thick moss as sometimes there is no solid ground underneath or it can be very unstable, which you probably know.

[@hettiebaker2101]

That's so beautiful....... love your video thanks

[@AvanaVana]

Hey Shawn, looks like you went to Iceland just in the nick of time! Yes, that mound (along with lots of NE-SW oriented topography on Reykjanesskagi) is for sure a kind of tindar, or subglacial extrusion. Appears to be mostly brecciated pillow basalt cemented in hyaloclastite matrix, which is a pretty typical subglacial volcanic facies. It’s interesting though how little palagonite or altered facies there appears to be. I wonder if this is more of an “inner” part of the lavas, and the more altered, friable stuff has all been weathered away. Also have to add, just superficially, it reminds me a little of Hell’s Half Acre and King’s Bowl rifts in your neck of the woods, even though I know they are nothing alike in reality. Also gives me visions of childhood imaginings reading J.R.R. Tolkien, specifically when the Grey Company travels through the mountains to reach the Door of the Dead (flying my nerd flag here!)

[@shawnwillsey]

Hi Avana. Very different (to me) from Hells Half Acre and Kings Bowl. Yes, I love the LOR reference. Very apropos.

[@BlGGESTBROTHER]

Hey Avana, I've seen you over on Nick Zentner's channel for years. Glad you've found Professor Willsey's amazing content as well!

[@janmccann8081]

Interesting! Thanks for sharing.

[@Rachel.4644]

Fascinating...gets the imagination lit! I'd love to explore there and check out the moss and lichens also. Extension. Extrusion under glaciation. Very interesting! Thank you.

[@rogercotman1314]

Fascinating video of fissures and brecciated lava ........................ and pillows ................ thanks Shawn ..............

[@Quarterborefan]

Wow, what an impressive sight! Thanks for sharing

[@nicholasbeck1558]

Gosh, I love your geo-talks. I learn so much from them. I would like to know more about the mid-Atlantic ridge that runs through Iceland.

[@shawnwillsey]

Hey, thanks for your kind words. Its great that my shooting from the hip, one take approach works so well with folks.

[@loisrossi841]

How amazingly high the walls are. Thank you.

[@Danika_Nadzan]

Nice "fissure feature"! The walls where higher than I expected; that was a good view from the top side. I didn't expect the breccia to be so solid...it sure looks crumbly. Moss and lichen are amazing in their ability to grow just about anywhere, and they pave the way for other plants. Thanks for the side trip from the eruption!

[@Whtwngd]

I really enjoyed your field exploration, this one is captivating. Keep up the good work.

[@shawnwillsey]

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching and learning with me.

[@marinangeli3250]

Wow, so beautiful, in both a stark and subtle way! I love the contrast of the sharp edged, craggy rocks, with the delicate plants perched upon them... all framed by the soft carpeting of moss. It makes me wonder if this is what the Precambrian world might have looked like. Thank you so much, Shawn, for bringing us along!!!

[@robertleach5355]

Amazing place.

[@johnnash5118]

Hi Shawn and viewers, Another igneous fissure like this one much closer to home is “Crack in the Ground” fissure in Central Oregon. You’d think you’re in Iceland. Oregon also has three Tuyas, the largest one is Table Rock in Marion County (not Jackson County,) and Hayrick Butte and Hogg Rock in Linn County.

[@garrettmillsap]

I'm a fellow Oregonian and I've always wondered how crack in the ground was formed.

[@peggykelley1465]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

[@StereoSpace]

Almost otherworldly. Interesting, thanks.

[@laggerb4680]

I’ve just found this & am fascinated by it, tho it’s an entirely new subject of interest. Your explanations are clear enough for even a total novice like me. I hope to follow your coverage of this latest happening as the excitement mounts over the fate of this small coastal town.

[@NoOne-yt6yf]

Thank you. What an incredible landscape! Got me thinking of the mechanics of extentional faults as well.

[@dancooper8551]

So cool! Iceland is at the top of my list of places to visit. Great video.

[@gailgreen5012]

So very interesting. Tha ms so much.

[@DianeSmith-h3t]

Amazing. 👍Di.. Cumbria.

[@J0hnC0ltrane]

I climbed a small mountain in Maine, north-east of Bangor that had a spongy moss at the top. Walking across it moss was like walking on a drum head which had a thumping hollow sound. Maine should be on anyone's bucket list of places to experience.

[@LisaBelleBC]

Amazing! Thank you!

[@jenniferfrykman390]

A fascinating feature, The same principle in miniature as structural basins seen writ large in the U S’ basin and range? A very nice vid full of atmosphere, and interesting close in shots of basalt surfaces. Thanks. I really learn from your field videos. Great work!JennFrykman

[@muzikhed]

That fissure is beautiful and a brilliant spot for a stroll. Spectacular scenery above. Iceland must be pretty much a paradise for a geology enthusiast ?

[@shawnwillsey]

It really is!

[@cacogenicist]

Neat. Looks like a cool film location.

[@shawnwillsey]

Yes, it was really magical and interesting.

[@daveh893]

Very interesting. I don't know if Iceland has much in the way of earthquakes but the split reminds me of pictures from California of splits in the earth from quakes.

[@shawnwillsey]

Yes, tons of quakes. It lies on a divergent plate boundary where two plate separate.

[@mawi1172]

Yep! Its beautiful! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@k1j2f30]

Man, if you fell into that fissure and bounced back and forth against the walls a couple of times...you would be shredded!

[@gerdahessel2268]

It takes the moss hundrets of years to grow in this harsh environment. Stepping on it destroys a lot.

[@jamesquick8833]

Hi Shawn, I'm headed to Iceland (for the 3rd time), next week. I plan to put Lambafellsgja on my list. We hit the 2021 eruption at its peak. Unbelievable! But for this new eruption, maybe not. Still a great place to explore. Thanks......Jim

[@shawnwillsey]

Jim, enjoy your upcoming trip. This eruptive phase seems to have largely ended but you never know when it might resume. And there are plenty of awesome places to enjoy and explore. Look for more Iceland videos over next few weeks that might give you some destination ideas.

[@Josh-Hunt]

Very cool!

[@PeterLJohnson55]

Is Tippy Top technical jargon? I appreciate your videos, especially your road cuts. Thank you.

[@jamesquick8833]

Hi Shawn, Love your videos. Please consider moving the camera around more slowly. Fast camera whips are vertigo-inducing.

[@shawnwillsey]

Sorry. Pretty solid geologist. Lousy videographer. I will work on this.

[@deborahellenberger7153]

Wow, how fascinating was that!! Love these outdoor lessons. So many questions!! Are you allowed to take samples? It would be interesting to see how samples compare to other similar terrain in different countries. Of course, you would have to do more world travels, wouldn’t that be a shame. Thank you for sharing.

[@shawnwillsey]

Glad you like these Deborah. Yes, samples are allowed here but I did not collect one on this trip from this location. Thanks for your support. If you are able, you can donate using the link under the video description. If not, no worries and keep watching.

[@comadrezoe]

If you could swing your camera a little more slowly, it would be less nauseating. I really love what you do, and thank you for sharing with us.

[@clintonturner5545]

It reminds me of Skull Island on King Kong. Good movie.

[@doug-Hakura]

thanks for another great talk. The sections of the video where you were moving the camera around within the fissure, I found to be very hard to watch.

[@joeleggiero7897]

I would love a piece of that for my collection....

[@PopsMdub]

That is interesting and beautiful, but not a tree of any kind anywhere in site! Any idea why that is?

[@shawnwillsey]

Presumably the island was overlogged when first settled. There are a few patches now in places and efforts are being made to replant. Also, the frequency of eruptions wipes the landscape clean in the more active areas.

[@PopsMdub]

@@shawnwillsey thanks for that explanation. I'd be planting trees like a maniac if I live there.

[@hfdole]

What's a pyroclastic flow under ice?

[@shawnwillsey]

To my knowledge, pyroclastic flows do not occur beneath glaciers based on the overlying pressure of the ice.

[@lauram9478]

❤

[@TheDuckman02050]

To my untrained eye the fissures look as if a dome is rising from below, cracking the surface. Perhaps trapped steam?

[@shawnwillsey]

I think that would cause explosive conditions which would rip the fissure open wider. I feel pretty good about my interpretation of this being caused by extension but open to other possibilities.

[@TheDuckman02050]

@@shawnwillsey Yeah, I guess all the other explosive volcanoes in that region give truth to that thinking. Amazing scenery, love the videos. Intriguing.

[@Anne5440_]

You said this fissure is from spreading. So, is this from a fault causing spreading? My visual sense says that it is being done inside a fault zone. My brain is saying it is not that. I am confused about this one. If I heard you correctly, this is NOT where the 2 tectonic plates meet. You said these are the volcanic breccias. So, was this formed under a glacier from a volcanic flow. I know I'm not understanding this video correctly. Fighting a sense of claustrophobia while watching didn't help, I'm sure. I know you were using your selfie stick up top. But my fingernails were deep in my palm, lol. It's been too many years since I rode chairlifts!

[@carolyntolliver1146]

PLEASE span more slowly. You make me dizzy! But I love your geo lessons. Thank you.

[@scottsluggosrule4670]

Anyone else get a little dizzy/ anxious when he looks into the crevasse… yikes!

[@mawi1172]

Are you nuts? 🙄 Walking next to a cliff on that terrain? 🙄🙄. Take care, Man! 🙄🙄🙄

[@justincosby2258]

So to have pillow lavas it had to have formed underwater if that is the case, and then experienced a lot of uplifting? That or sea level would have been high enough when it formed to be underwater. Are you aware of the elevation there?

[@shawnwillsey]

Many of the pillow lavas in Iceland are from subglacial eruptions where the ice melted and quenched the lava.

[@justincosby2258]

@@shawnwillsey ahhh yeah that makes sense. I heard you say that and didnt out two and two together. Lol thanks