Deildartunguhver

Billowing clouds of steam and bubbling water from the ground mark the site of Deildartunguhver, the highest-flow hot spring in Europe. Located in western Iceland, the spring is incredibly powerful and has a very high flow rate of 180 liters per second. The temperature of the water as it emerges from the ground is around 100 degrees Centigrade.

Deildartunguhver provides the surrounding region with hot water. In the towns of Borgarnes and Akranes, water from the thermal springs is responsible for most of the central heating. To reach Akranes, water travels through a 64-kilometer (39 mile) pipeline, the longest in Iceland. Though it cools off slightly over the course of its journey, the water is still around 78-80 degrees by the times it reaches its Akranes, the farther of the two towns. Any excess goes to heating the greenhouses that are in the surrounding area.

Just north of Deildartunguhver are the Krauma geothermal nature baths, which mix hot water from the thermal springs and cold water from the from Rauðsgil, which originates in the Ok glacier.