The Þingvellir plain is situated on a tectonic-plate boundary where North America and Europe are tearing away from each other at a rate of 1mm to 18mm per year. As a result, the plain is scarred by dramatic fissures, ponds and rivers, including the great rift ´¡±ô³¾²¹²Ô²Ô²¹²µÂáá. An atmospheric path runs through the dramatic crevice and along the fault between the clifftop visitor centre and the Alþingi site.
The river ֳ油°ùá cuts the western plate, tumbling off its edge in a series of pretty cascades. The most impressive is ֳ油°ùárfoss, on the northern edge of the Alþingi site. The pool Drekkingarhylur was used to drown women found guilty of infanticide, adultery or other serious crimes.
There are other smaller fissures on the eastern edge of the site. During the 17th century, nine men accused of witchcraft were burned at the stake in µþ°ù±ð²Ô²Ô³Ü²µÂáá (Burning Chasm). Nearby are the fissures of ¹ó±ô´Ç²õ²¹²µÂáá (named after a slave who jumped his way to freedom) and ±·¾±°ì³Ü±ôá²õ²¹°ù²µÂáá (after a drunken sheriff discovered dead in the water). The southern end of ±·¾±°ì³Ü±ôá²õ²¹°ù²µÂáá is known as ±Ê±ð²Ô¾±²Ô²µ²¹²µÂáá (Chasm of Coins) for the thousands of coins tossed into it by visitors (an act forbidden these days). There are a few different car parks around the sights; a parking fee may be payable at some of them.
