Photograps: Vigfus Birgisson - Icelandair Hotels · 2013-04-16 · They look like a skier’s trail in the winter sky, yet they move and quiver. They look self-lit, yet transparent

Moss

Wooly moss, Racomitrium lanuginosum, or gray moss as the plant is known locally, is a predominant part of the wild vegetation that thrives on the young lava fields in southern parts of

Iceland. This robust plant is usually the first pioneer to colonize newly run lava, patiently covering the sharp-edged black and lifeless stone with soft gray-green carpets through the first

decades while slowly, but surely, binding a layer of soil in preparation for more demanding settlers such as grasses and ferns.

Nature rooms available at Reykjavik Natura: Aurora Borealis, Flora, Geothermal heat, Ice, Moss, Northern Lights, Volcanoes, Water.

For more information about our nature themed rooms, please visit: www.icelandairhotels.com or contact our reception.

Photograps: Vigfus Birgisson

I ce


Ice gives Iceland its name and ensures its magnificent appearance. Without its 11,400 km² of glaciers and ice caps, Iceland would surely not look the same, and the weather would not be

the same. For millenniums, Iceland’s glaciers have played a major part in shaping the island’s landscape and meteorology. To what extent they will continue to do so remains a mystery,

as the ice moves to the rhythm of climate change. Vatnajökull is Iceland’s largest glacier and Europe’s largest ice cap by volume.



Water


Water is one of Iceland’s most important natural resources. Fresh, pure drinking water flows from wells and rivers, geothermal water is used for space heating, powerful waterfalls are

harnessed to produce electricity and the rain – well, the rain falls horizontally due to the strong winds. Icelanders love their water. They promote it whenever they see fit, they bottle it and

pack it for long journeys, they organize social meetings at the local pool, and when the drops freeze – they go skating!



Vulcan

Photograps: Christopher Lund

Vulcan was the god of fire in Roman mythology. Geological terms in many languages are derived from his name, however, Icelanders have their own nomenclature: eldgos is a volcanic

eruption, eldfjall is a volcano. Iceland sits on a geological hot spot astride the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the Eurasian and North American Plates relentlessly strive to move apart. In the

20th century alone, our geologically teenaged island saw 39 volcanic eruptions. Eldur, as you may have guessed, means fire.



Geothermal


Geothermal energy and hydropower provide all of Iceland’s electricity and around 80% of the nation’s total energy. Iceland’s largest geothermal power plants are Hellisheiði and

Nesjavellir, located on an active volcanic ridge near Reykjavík. The geothermal system’s function is threefold: hot water is harnessed from low-temperature fields and distributed for space

heating, hot water for space heating is produced in high-temperature areas by heating cold groundwater, and in addition, geothermal energy is used to generate electricity.



Aurora boreal i s

Photograps: Olgeir ...

Northern lights (aurora borealis) are tricky to describe. They look like a skier’s trail in the winter sky, yet they move and quiver. They look self-lit, yet transparent. And just as you spot their

pastel colors, they turn back to a glittering white. The scientific explanation, however, is that auroras result from emissions of photons in the Earth’s upper atmosphere, above 80 km, from

ionized nitrogen atoms regaining an electron, and oxygen and nitrogen atoms returning to ground state after being excited by a collision of solar wind particle.



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Photograps: Vigfus Birgisson - Icelandair Hotels · 2013-04-16 · They look like a skier’s trail in the winter sky, yet they move and quiver. They look self-lit, yet transparent