Located between the North American and Eurasian continents, the rift formed 150 million years ago contains unimaginable secrets… No one would have guessed that the narrow, great mountain cleft under the sea, created by the splitting of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates 150 million years ago, hides unbelievable things in the world today.
Situated in Lake Thingvallavatn (within Thingvellir National Park, southwest Iceland), the Silfra rift is the only place on Earth where divers can experience the sensation of swimming between two continents.
Silfra is called the “deathly” rift because the underwater volcano Arnarnes Strytur is still active there. It creates hot springs up to 80°C on the surface of Lake Thingvallavatn.
Experts say that small earthquakes still occur here every year, which worries them about the possibility of the underwater volcano awakening in the future.
A group of professional American divers has measured the deepest point in Silfra, 63 meters. However, many people do not dare to risk their lives to dive that deep in this narrow mountain cleft.
Because this place is one of the most active geological sites in the world. Every year, earthquakes and volcanic activity cause the tectonic plates to move more than 2cm away from each other.
Nevertheless, this place attracts thousands of tourists and ocean lovers from all over the world to experience diving between two continents.
This natural Silfra rift is the most amazing “paradise” for professional divers around the world.
An English diver once said that he has dived in many places on Earth, and the water here is the clearest and most fantastic.
He said that the visibility when diving in this rift reaches 100 meters. Among them, the 100-meter-long diving spot named Silfra Cathedral has a more splendid scenery than the other two diving spots, Silfra Hall and Silfra Lagoon.
At the next diving spot of Silfra Lagoon is Little Crack. This is a narrow and deep crack point. No diver dares to approach this area without extreme safety equipment.
