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Is the Blue Lagoon a Wonder of the World?
The Blue Lagoon’s geothermal seawater is 70% ocean water and 30% freshwater, enriched with silica, algae, and minerals.
The Blue Lagoon: why is it so special?
In 2012, National Geographic published a list of Wonders of the World, which they subtitled ‘Earth’s Most Awesome Places.’
National Geographic bestowed honors on 25 natural wonders divided into three categories: Sky, Land, and Water. The Sky category featured such beauties as California’s soaring redwood trees and majestic Mount Everest. The Land category gave plaudits to Arizona’s Grand Canyon, North Africa’s Sahara Desert, and Hawaii’s volcanoes.
The Blue Lagoon was included in the Water category and shared this recognition with esteemed company, including Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the Norwegian fjords, Lake Baikal in Siberia, and Victoria Falls in southern Africa.
The Blue Lagoon: a wonder for its water
Want to know why National Geographic awarded The Blue Lagoon a place on such a list? The answer lies in the category in which it was included: Water.
The Blue Lagoon’s geothermal seawater is 70% ocean water and 30% freshwater, enriched with silica, algae, and minerals. Not only is it a delight simply to soak in, it heals, rejuvenates, and nourishes.
We’ll give the official word to National Geographic, as it describes the wonder of The Blue Lagoon’s water:
Iceland straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are pulling apart. Upwelling magma built the island and heats its vast reservoirs of water, creating a geothermal paradise. First among the country’s many simmering geothermal pools is the Blue Lagoon, a turquoise vision in a black basaltic moonscape. The geothermal spa is fed by seawater 6,500 feet (1,981 m) beneath the surface, where it reaches a searing 464⁰F (240⁰C). Capturing silica and other minerals on its way to the surface, it emerges from the ground at a balmy 100⁰F (38⁰C), just right for pampering visitors.
National Geographic Wonders of the World, 2012
A brief history of world wonders
Travelers (and travel media) love lists, both making them and following them. List-making is not a new phenomenon, however. Even the Ancient Greeks compiled a list of remarkable sites in their extended neighborhood, and so began a timeless fashion for categorizing curiosities and spectacles.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World included such marvels as the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt and the Temple of Artemis in present-day Turkey.
Fast-forward a few millennia and numerous lists are now in circulation, categorizing the world’s many wonders into natural or human-made, ancient, medieval, modern, and so on. Wonders never cease to amaze us, it’s true.
For more on these lists, you can check out an overview at WorldAtlas.