Land of ice and fire

During half-term Geography students from Year 8 to Upper Sixth embarked on an exciting journey to Iceland.  The trip started in Reykjavik where the girls visited the old port, central lake and the Hallgrimskrkja Church. They then headed to Perlan, which is a futurists building made of large circular tanks and holds the city’s natural heated water reserves.  From here the girls were able to see amazing views of Reykjavik and also see the indoor geyser erupt.

Other spectacular places on their itinerary included:

• The Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Station where they found out how the heat from volcanoes is turned into energy.  
• An earthquake simulator where the girls experienced a 5.0 force earthquake and also saw where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates meet.
• A stunning waterfall at Seljalandsfoss, where the water spills over a basalt cliff due to isostatic rebound of the land and its lava flow.  This was very useful for the Lower Sixth girls as they are currently studying “Rivers” as part of their AS Level.
• The Eyjafjallajokull floodplain, where the girls saw the effects of the glacier burst from the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull eruption.  This was of particular interest to Year 10 as the eruption is being studied in their lessons this year.
• Skogafoss waterfall, which is 60m wide and one of Iceland’s most impressive waterfalls.  By being able to get up close to the waterfalls, the girls could see how the water has eroded the cliffs and how it has shaped the landscape around them.
• The “sun house glacier”, Solheimajokull, which is one of the outlets of the Myrdalsjokull icecap and is located in an 8km long valley.  At the source of this glacier is Iceland’s famous volcano, Katla.  This was of great benefit to the Sixth Form who were able to identify the glacial landforms around them, which they have been learning about in their AS Level unit.
• The coastal arch in the rocks at Dyrhólaey, which was very useful for all year groups as this relates to their lessons regarding the coastal landscape.
• A volcanic crater lake, Kerid, which was thought to have originally been formed by a large volcanic explosion.  The girls walked along the rim of the crater and were able to look down into the lake beneath observing the colours which are created by the previous eruptions.
• Gullfoss double falls, which drop around 33m and plunge into a mile-long gorge and one of Iceland’s most photographed waterfalls.
• The Stokkur geyser which erupts every 5 – 7 minutes with warm water.
• The Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa where the girls were able to bathe in the volcanic water which is between 30°C - 40°C and is rich in unique, natural minerals.  They particularly liked the silica mud mask which can be found in a number of crates around the lagoon.
• The Reykjanes Peninsula where the girls saw boiling mud pools and hot springs.  Close by the peninsula the Mid-Atlantic Ridge can be seen where the two tectonic plates were pulling apart from each other.

Geography teacher, Miss Clifford said “The visit to Iceland provided a fabulous opportunity for the girls to enhance their learning on the topics of coasts, rivers and plate tectonics. After seeing concepts that we have been studying in the classroom for themselves out in the real world the girls will now be able to take elements of the visit and apply them back to their studies.”

To view more photos from the trip take a look at the Pipers Flickr page.

For more information contact:

Rebecca Conroy, Senior Marketing Executive, Pipers Corner School. Telephone 01494 719850 or email [email protected]