Return to Vatnsdalfjall

BLONDUOS, ICELAND – Meagen and guest blogger, Travis

We returned to Vatnsdalfjall for the second day of field work on the Monocline. The weather was the best we’ve experienced in Iceland yet.

View of the steeply dipping Monocline as it dives under the Hjallin Lens.

After a long hike through fields of sadness (so named by a previous IS student), we finally made it to our first exposure. We found lots of interesting amygdules (filled vesicles):

Vesicles half-filled with chalcedony in horizontal layers suggests that the lavas were tilted before the chalcedony precipitated.

Zeolites come in a variety of habits, including these hair-like fibers that are about 1 cm long.

We sampled and made observations all of the way to the top of the Monocline. We were quite pleased with ourselves when we made it to the top, and slightly surprised to see that it was already 8 pm! In the land of the midnight sun, field work could last for 24 hours a day.

Lindsey and Travis getting ready to head down the mountain at 8 pm at night.

After such a hard day of work, we relaxed in the evening and made plans to visit Akureyri the next day.

Travis relaxes in the hot tub.