The Icelandic Canadian - 01.09.1981, Side 30

28
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
AUTUMN, 1981
anywhere else. A rainbow over Gullfoss is
an awe inspiring site. Dettifoss, at 144 feet,
the highest waterfall in Europe, presents a
picture of ruggedness and vastness. Goda-
foss near Akureyri, and Hraunfoss are
God’s gift to the people.
The hot springs and geysers are numerous
and beneficial for heating the homes in cities
and towns. Reykjavik homes are mostly
heated by the natural hot water springs near
the city. The famous Great Geyser in
Haukadalur has given its name to geysers all
over the world. Although inactive today, its
neighbour Strokkur provides a spectacle,
which, once seen is never forgotten.
Being an Electrical Engineer, my travels
had to include an inspection of Iceland’s
hydro development. Iceland is rich in un-
developed thermal and hydro potential. It is
technically possible to harness 90 hydro or
geothermal sites on the island. Approxi-
mately 10% of its hydro energy has been
utilized.
I have been fortunate in visiting Burfell,
the largest power plant, at the time it was
completed — also the installation at
Sigalda, while it was under construction.
Exchanging information with the Engineers
at Burfell, one realizes our common objec-
tives and concerns. Although one large
plant on the Nelson river has more capacity
than all the hydro plants in operation in
Iceland today, the same technical knowl-
edge for design and constrcution must pre-
vail. The power from the plant at Burfell
flows over transmission lines to Reykjavik
and to the aluminum smelter at Straumsvik.
Travelling to the power plant, one cannot
help being impressed with the beauty of
Hecla. Although it is some distance away,
Hecla dominates the valley. There is no
doubt, that this area of wasteland was at the
time of settlement of Iceland, a wooded and
grassy terrain, with flourishing communi-
ties. The eruptions of Hecla over the years,
some 17 times since the settlement of Ice-
land, has deposited thick layers of pumice,
dating back some 4000 years. It was in this
area that the annals record a catastrophe in
1104, with 5 words “the first fire in Hecla”,
which devastated the valley. One is able to
see the old farm ruins at Stong, and get an
indication of how well the farms prospered
before the Hecla eruptions.
Iceland has been described as one big
slumbering volcano. Occasionally that
sleeping giant awakes and spews forth his
wrath in the form of eruptions at Hecla,
Vestmann Island or creates a new island at
Surtsey.
At Lake Myvatn in Northern Iceland, we
have one of the greatest attractions to
visitors in the incredibly shaped lava rock
formations. Lake Myvatn is also a unique
bird paradise where thousands of whooper
swans inhabit the eastern shore and bird life
of all types abound in plenty. In this region,
the lava formation of Dimmuborgir covers a
vast area as a national park.
A toast to Iceland would not be complete
without reference to family ties. As a
member of a family of four generations of
Canadians, it is interesting to try to relate the
views of each generation to Iceland. My
grandparents came to Gimli in 1892, bring-
ing with them my mother who was 4 years
old at the time, and who is with us today.
Both being born in Iceland, their views
could be expected to be different than mine
and my family’s. All of us have been to
Iceland, hence a common bond exists. What
is the prime ingredient of this bond and how
was it manifest in different generations?
My grandparents and mother were born in
Vopnafjordur. My grandparents, with
members of their family left Iceland for one
main reason — survival. They felt that the
economic conditions, severe hardship, and
the ability to maintain a family in the early
1890s, forced them to decide to emigrate to
Canada. The strongest instinct in any human
is survival. Despite the heartbreak of leaving
relatives and friends to go to a foreign
country without knowledge of language or