Þingvellir national park within the Reykjaneshryggur-Langjökull rift system, East of Reykjavik - Stockfoto

Photograph taken at an altitude of One hundred and forty five metres off Þingvallavegur 36 in the Þingvellir national park (Thingvellir National Park), part of the North Atlantic rift system, within the Reykjaneshryggur-Langjökull rift system. The rift zone constitutes a graben bounded by major faults. The rift valley narrows from NE to SW with parallel fissures and down-dropped fault blocks running along the length of the valley. On the west is the North American tectonic plate on the east the Eurasian plate. The valley walls are moving apart at a rate of about 7 mm per year, the last major earthquake activity occurring in 1789. During the 1789 earthquakes the graben floor subsidised 1-2 m