The Blue
Lagoon Geothermal Spa is one of the most
visited attraction in Iceland. The Spa is located in lava field in Gridvaik on the
Reykajnes Penninsul, southwestern Iceland. Blue lagoon is situated
approximately 39 km from the capital city of Reykjavik. It can also be reached from Reykjavik with a number
of tours and combined with activities.
Short Description
The warm
waters are rich in minerals like silica and sulfur and bathing in the Blue Lagoon
is reputed to help some people suffering from skin diseases such as psoriasis. The
water temperature in the bathing and
swimming area of the lagoon averages 37 – 39 degree Celsius. The Blue Lagoon
also operates a research and development facility to help find fures for other
skin ailments using the mineral – rich water.
The lagoon
is a man – made lagoon, which is fed by the water output of the nearby
geothermal power plant Svartsengi and is renewed every two days. Super heated
water is vented from the ground near a lava flow and used to run turbine that
generate electricity. After going through a heat ex charger to provide heat a
municipal water heating system. Then the water is fed into the lagoon for
recreational and medicinal users to bathe in.
The rich
mineral content is provided by the underground geological layers and pushed up
to the surface by the hot water used by the plant. Because of its mineral concentration,
water can not be recycled and must be disposed of in the nearby landscape, a permeable
lava field 50 cm to 1 m thick. The silicate minerals is the primary cause of
that water’s beautiful milky blue shade assuring the touristic resort’s
success. After the minerals have formed
a deposit the water rein filtrates the ground, but the deposit renders
it impermeable over time. Hence the necessity for the plant to
continuously dig new ponds in the nearby
lava field.
The Blue
Lagoon was used as the pit stop for the first leg of amazing race 6. The Blue
Lagoon is situsted close to the world’s first renewable methanol plant, which
uses carbon Recycling international’s carbon dioxide to methanol fuel process.
In 1976 a
pool formed at the site from the water of the geothermal power plant that had just been built there. In
1981 people started bathing in it after the discovery of its heating powers of
psoriasis. In 1992 The Blue Lagoon Company was established and the bathing
facility was opened to the public.