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VON TROIL’S LETTERS ON ICELAND. 695
Hruta-fiorden there is a great ver called Reike-hver, and another as large at Midfiorden,
called Reixalaug. When you go from hence fouthward into the country, you will
find a number of boiling fprings at Hverevalle, three of which {pout the water high into
the air with a prodigious noife; {till further to the fouth there is a Aver near Geitland’s
Jokul. 7
If we turn again to the north, we find hot fprings at Blanda, others near the haven at
Skaga-Strand, and ftill more at a little diftance from thence at Skaga-fiorden ; one of
which falls froma rock thirty feet high. To the eaft there are hot fprings in many
places of Vadle Syffel, as at Olafs-fiordr, Langaland, Kriftnas, and Hrafnegil ; but in
Thingo Syffel there are {prings of both forts (baths and /vers) in great number, and of
confiderable dimenfions. ‘The Avers in Reykia Valley deferve to be particularly men-
tioned, among{t which Oxe and Badftofu are the largett.
On the eaft fide of the country there are no confiderable vers, though warm fprings
are to be found in Selar, Laugarvalle, Rafukells, and Fliots valleys; and on the fourth,
on Torfa Jukul. We then proceeded to Skallholt, where there are many {prings ;
about a mile from thence the Avers, called Reikholt and Grafa, both which fpout very
high. The next buver is Geyfer, which I hall afterwards mention more minutely.
Not far from this laft is Laugervatn, a fmall lake, round which a number of warm
fprings may be obferved, and eight boiling ones. The road now leads us to the vers,
at Oelves, which isthought to be the largeft in all Iceland; the moft remarkable of
which are Geyfer and Bad{ftofu.
Here is alfoa dry Aver, from which water formerly proceeded, but now emits only
fteam through its mouth; the heat of which however is fo great, that a pot of water placed
over the opening boils ina very fhort time. We met with {pouting fprings at Krufevik.
in Gullpringe Syffel, the Aver Eine, the vers at Reikianas, and feveral at Langarnas in
Kiofar Syffel.
From this lift, which, however, is far from containing all the warm fprings in Ice-
Jand, you may judge, Sir, of the prodigious number that we met with. Near molt cf
them are warm baths, each of which merits a particular examination and defecription.
Eggert Olafsen and Biarne Paulfen have made very curious obfervations on feveral of
them ; but I only beg leave to mention fome which I made at Geyfer, where is the
largeft of all the fpouting-fprings in Iceland, or perhaps in the known world. Thefe
obfervations were made the twenty-firlt of September 1772, from fix o’clock in the
morning till feven at night.
Among the hot fprings in Iceland, feveral of which bear the name of gey/er, there
are none that can be compared with that which I am going to defcribe, though the belt
defcription will fall very fhort of it. It is about two days journey from Heckla, not far:
from Skallholt, near a farm called Haukadal. Here a poet would have an opportunity
of painting a picture of whatever Nature has of beautiful and terrible united, by deli-
neating one of its moft uncommon phanomena: it would be a fubjet worthy of the
pen of a Thompfon to tranfport the reader, by poetical imagery, to the {pot which is
here prefented to the eye. Reprefent to yourfelf a large field, where you fee on one
fide, at a great diftance, high mountains covered with ice, whofe fummits are generally
wrapped up in clouds, fo that their fharp unequal points become invifible. ‘This lofs
however is compenfated by a certain wind, which caufes the clouds to fink, and cover
the mountain itfelf, when its fummit appears as is were to ret upon the clouds. On the
other fide, Heckla is feen, with its three points covered with ice, rifing above the
clouds, and with the fmoke which afcends from it, forming other clouds at fome diftance
from the real ones: and on another fide is a ridge of high rocks, at the foot of which
boiling
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