Sunday, October 23, 2016

Questions of Iceland

Iceland

    Iceland is one of the places i want to go. One of the reason of why i want to go there is because of a travel show i watched back then. I barely knew anything about Iceland until i watched that show. Then i realised that Iceland is such a beautiful country and i hope i can visit it someday.
    The Republic of Iceland is a Nordic Island Country in theNorth Atlantic OceanIt has a population of 332,529 and an area of 103,000 km2, making it the most sparsely populated country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Reykjavík. Reykjavík and the surrounding areas in the southwest of the country are home to over two-thirds of the population.
    Maybe Iceland isn't that well known in Indonesia. But i really want to visit it someday. By looking at the pictures and videos, i could tell that it is a beautiful place.I especially want to do the popular “Golden Circle Tour.” Golden Circle is a popular day tourist route for visitors in Iceland. The 300km route covers many beautiful landmarks in a short period of time because they're all located in southwest of Iceland. Golden Circle Tour covers three popular main tourist attraction in Iceland, Gullfoss, Geysir, and Þingvellir.

1. Gullfoss
    Gullfoss is a waterfall located in the canyon of the Hvítá (White) river in Southwest of Iceland which is fed by Iceland´s second biggest glacier, the Langjökull. The water plummets down 32 meters in two stages into a rugged canyon which walls reach up to 70 meters in height. On a sunny day shimmering rainbow can be seen over the falls. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Iceland.
     Gullfoss is more than just a pretty waterfall, it has a story to tell. In the early 20th century foreign investors wanted to harness the power of Gullfoss to produce electricity. In 1907 Howells, an Englishman wanted to buy Gullfoss from Tómas Tómasson, a farmer who owned Gullfoss at this time. Tómas declined Howells´ offer to buy the waterfall but later he leased it to him. The farmer´s daughter, Sigriður Tómasdóttir who grew up on his father´s sheep farm sought to have the rental contract voided. Sigriður using her own saving hired a lawyer in Reykjavik to defend her case. The trial lasted years and Sigriður went several times barefoot on traitorous terrain to Reykjavik to follow up on her case. She even threatened to throw herself into the waterfall if the construction would begin. Her attempts failed in court but before any damage was done to the waterfall the contract was disposed due to the lack of payments of the rent fee. The struggles of Sigriður to preserve the waterfall brought to people´s attention the importance of preserving nature and therefore she is often called Iceland´s first environmentalist.
     In 1940 the adopted son of Sigriður acquired the waterfall from Sigriður´s father and later sold it to the Icelandic government. Gullfoss and its environs was designated as nature reserve in 1979 to permanently protect the waterfall and allow the public to enjoy this unique area.
2. Geysir
    Geysir is a geyser in the southwestern Iceland. The English word "geyser" is derived from the Icelandic word "geysir" which means gusher. It has been dormant since 1916 when it suddenly ceased to spout. It came to life only once in 1935, when a manmade channel was dug through the silica rim around the edge of the geyser vent. This ditch caused a lowering of the water table and a revival in activity. Gradually this channel became too clogged with silica and eruptions again became rare. In 1981 the ditch was cleared again and eruptions could be stimulated, on special occasions, by the addition of soap. Following environmental concerns the practice of adding soap was seldom employed during the 1990s. Initially eruptions were taking place on average eight times a day. By July 2003 this activity had again decreased to around three times per day.
     One reason for cessation is believed to be the accumulated rocks and foreign objects thrown into it by thousands of tourists throughout the years, but this however couldn't be the only reason for its dormancy. Though the Great Geysir itself is now more or less inactive, the area surrounding it is geothermically very active with many smaller hot springs.
     The attraction of the area id now Strokkur, another geyser 100 meters south of the Great Geysir, which erupts at regular intervals every 10 minutes or so and its white column of boiling water can reach as high as 30 meters.

3. Þingvellir
Visitor Center
 Þingvellir or Thingvelir is a national park in the municipality of Bláskógabyggð in southwestern Iceland, about 40 km northeast of ReykjavíkÞingvellir has always been popular, for obvious reasons. The history and striking landscape make the place an almost mandatory stopping point for tourists.
     There are many things we can do at Thingvellir, such as visiting the visitor centre, camping, scuba diving, hiking, and horseback riding.
1. Visitor Center
    The Visitor Center is in a building close to the viewspot at Hakið, where a footpath leads down into the great Almannagjá fault. The exhibition in the Visitor Centre is almost exclusively based on  interactive multimedia.
2. Information Center
Information Center
    The Information Centre in Þingvellir National Park is at Leirar, close to the camping grounds. At the Information Center visitors can get general information about the National Park, its nature and history. Also available are maps of the park with marked trails. Information about other places of interest in the area and the condition of roads is also available.



Thingvellir Church
3. Thingvellir Church
     Þingvallakirkja, the church at Þingvellir is the first church Iceland. It’s a beautiful historic church in Iceland.
4. Camping
   The camp grounds are open 1. June to 30. September. Camping is permitted in two areas in the National Park. At Leirar, which is within a 5 minutes walking  distance from the Information Center, and in Vatnskot, by lake Þingvallavatn. The Leirar campground is divided into four camping grounds: Fagrabrekka, Syðri-Leirar,  Hvannabrekka and Nyrðri-Leirar.
    There is no reservation needed for camping in any campsite at Thingvellir national park.
5. Hiking
    Numerous hiking trails extend all over the National Park. Outside the ancient assembly site most of the hiking paths are associated with the abandoned farms of Hrauntún, Skógarkot and Vatnskot, remains of which can still be seen.
Horse riding
6. Horseback riding
    Two designated horse trails run through the National Park. Starting at Gjábakki, a path takes you across the Hrafnagjáfault to the Skógarkot farm site, along the Skógarkotsgata trail. From Skógarkot you can then choose two paths to Skógarhólar.
    One leads on along the Skógarkotsgata trail into the Stekkjargjá fault and up by way of Langistígur. The other path takes you north to the Hrauntún farm site and across the Sandskeið flat to mount Ármannsfell, and from there to the west along the National Park fence to Skógarhólar.
    Both routes are particularly scenic and a highly recommended choice for people on horseback
Diving in Silfra
7. Diving
    Diving is permitted in two submerged rifts in the National Park, Silfra and Davíðsgjá. Silfra is one of the best spots for diving in Iceland and many people find the rift unique on an international scale.










    And that's it about Iceland! I hope i can visit it someday :)


Questions

1. What is the capital of Iceland?
a. Reykjavik
b. Akureyri
c. Keflavik
d. Kopavogur
e. Akranes

2. What is the most popular tourist route in Iceland?
a. Golden Square Tour
b. Great Circle Tour
c. Golden Circle Tour
d. Golden Round Tour
e. Golden Great Tour

3. Who is the Englishman who wanted to buy Gullfoss in 1907?
a. Howells
b. Tómas Tómasson
c. Tómasdóttir
d. Johanesson
e. Sigriður

4. What can't we do at the information center of Thingvellir?
a. get general information about the National Park,
b. see the maps of the park with marked trails.
c. buy tickets to enter the park 
d. get information about other places of interest in the area
e. get information of the condition of the roads.

5. "It’s a beautiful historic church in Iceland."
What is the synonym of the underlined word?
a. unforgettable
b. consequential
c. unknown
d. trivial
e. majestic

6. What makes Thingvellir popular?
a. the place is warm and cozy
b. modern and sophisticated place
c. there's a lot of delicious food
d. it's large and cool 
e. the history and striking landscape

7.  How to stimulate the eruptions in Geysir?
a. adding baking soda
b. adding sugar
c. adding salt
d. adding soap
e. adding toothpaste

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