Rift Zones and Hot spots

I have always been drawn to the earth’s hot spots. There are places where the earth’s molten layer finds its way through a vulnerability to penetrate through the earth’s crust and magma rises to the surface. Other than these hot spots, most volcanic activity takes place along the edges of the tectonic plates where there is friction. One plate is subducting under the other, or the plates are colliding into each other, or the plates are separating and moving apart. Iceland sits astride the mid-Atlantic rift zone where the plates are pulling apart. The mid-Atlantic rift runs like a crooked seam down the middle of the Atlantic ocean. Sitting on this intersection, half of Iceland is moving towards Europe, while the other half is pulled toward North America, and the rift is visible in fractures and faults that bisect the country.

Rift zone visible on the Reykjanes Peninsula

It is also believed that Iceland sits atop a hot spot which accounts for the frequency of volcanic eruptions in this small country. It happens with a frequency of about every five years or so.

Bridge Across Two Continents. On one side is the North American plate, the other the Eurasian plate.

In these hot spots, I’ve found my own vulnerability in that protective barrier built from life’s experiences. Places that inspire me to write. About five years ago I began to offer writing retreats in Iceland to give others the opportunity to join me in this inspirational landscape.

The 2021 writing retreat began last Saturday. I rented a large house outside of Selfoss, and a wonderful group has gathered here to write, talk, walk, hike, meditate, hot tub and be inspired by each other and by the landscape that surrounds us.

Writers Retreat 2021 outside Selfoss, Iceland

At this time of year, the sun sets at 10:48 p.m., and rises at 4:00 a.m. In between the sky is fused with pink light that blurs the transition between each day. It’s hard to sleep in this extended daylight, not because of the light in my eyes, but because I don’t want to miss any part of the day. I have developed a severe case of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) that’s keeping me awake and alert. That isn’t always a bad thing, although disruptive to my sleep patterns, and my dreams are disjointed like the fractures of the earth. I take frequent naps to get short stretches of rest when I’m tired, and it divides the day into an endless sequence punctuated like short sentences of awe.

View outside the bedroom window at 1:00 a.m. Last light and first light are fused into a pink-blue sky.