Hveragerði

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Hveragerði
Town and Municipality
Hveragerði From Afar
Location of the Municipality of Hveragerði
Hveragerði
Location of the town Hveragerð in Iceland
Coordinates: 64°0′N 21°12′W / 64.000°N 21.200°W / 64.000; -21.200Coordinates: 64°0′N 21°12′W / 64.000°N 21.200°W / 64.000; -21.200
Country  Iceland
Constituency South
Area
 • Total 3 sq mi (9 km2)
Population (2011)
 • Total 2,316
Time zone GMT (UTC+0)
Post Code 810
Website Official website

Hveragerði is a town and municipality in the south of Iceland located 45 km to the east of Reykjavík on Iceland's main ringroad, Route 1.

The river Varmá runs through the town. The population was 2,316 on 1 January 2011.

Overview

The surrounding area is part of the Hengill central volcano, and is geothermally active and experiences very frequent (usually minor) earthquakes. The town is known for its greenhouses, which are heated by hot water from volcanic hot springs. These springs are the site of occurrence of certain extremophile micro-organisms, that are capable of surviving in extremely hot environments.(C.Michael Hogan. 2010) An infrequently erupting geyser, Grýla is at the entrance of the Ölfusdalur valley. The borehole Leppalúði on the way to the Gufudalur valley erupts continuously, reaching a height of 10–12 meters. Close to the church is a hot spring called Sandhólshver, formed during the violent South Iceland earthquake of 1896. A fenced-off geothermal area in the town has numerous hot springs and fumaroles.

Hveragerði contains a number of greenhouses and is a hotbed for Icelandic horticulture.

To the south of Hveragerði, there is the small port of Þorlákshöfn, point of departure for the ferry to the Westman Islands.

Sports

The local football club is Hamar, who play in Iceland's third tier.

See also

  • Volcanism in Iceland

References

  • C.Michael Hogan. 2010. Extremophile. eds. E.Monosson and C.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment, Washington DC

External links

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1Icelandic settlements with city or town status. Not to be confused with the municipalities.
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