Visit the Silfra Fissure to go scuba diving between two continents
Iceland’s Silfra Fissure is the only place in the world where you may scuba dive between two continents! It’s also one of the best snorkelling spots in the world.
At Iceland’s Silfra Fissure, which is situated in the middle of Thingvellir National Park, the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates have apparently been drifting apart at a rate of 2 cm per year!
A major earthquake that struck the region in 1789 opened up numerous fissures. The single fissure, whose name translates to “silvery,” Silfra Fissure, was flooded with glacial meltwater from the neighbouring Langjokull Glacier.
The Silfra fissure, a geological marvel, is actually a space between continents that was created by the ongoing separation of two tectonic plates. The region has also become known all over the world as one of the top diving spots since snorkelers and divers may almost float between the Eurasian and North American continents. It’s incredible to see how you can actually touch both continents in a couple of the smaller gaps.
It is also one of those places where you can find some of the cleanest water in the world because of a natural filtration process in which water from the nearby Langjökull glacier flows through porous subsurface lava for 30 to 100 years before arriving in Silfra.
This dive site offers visibility of more than 120 metres, allowing divers to view the underwater world with breathtaking clarity; for tourists, this is unquestionably a once-in-a-lifetime experience.