I hadn't really planned to go there and see this dormant volcano crater but I was driving and noticed it. I stopped and it looked like yep, it's walkable enough to get into the crater. Located on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland, very close to the ocean. The crater's name is Stampar.
I was the only one there, not surprising. It's not exactly a tourist sight to see or where an average tourist goes or even knows about its existence. I didn't either until I was there. Since I'm extremely interested in geology and volcanoes I sure wanted to climb it.
It wasn't a hard climb by any means. About 30 to 40meters altitude gain and some rocky terrain.
This crater formed between 1210 - 1240 during the event called Reykjanes fires. Not very old, in geological terms. It is not the only crater in the area, there are several more that appeared during that time when the fissure opened. Most craters are low-lying splatter cones like this one.
Here is a photo taken on the crater's rim, you can see the crater itself.
The view from the top. Here you can see my rental car below, next to the road.
There is no trail that leads up to the crater, you kinda make your own way. You are allowed to hike randomly, however you need to preserve the rock formations and plants, look where you step. Iceland really respects its natural formations.
Here you can see another crater right opposite of me. And traces of liquid lava flow in front of me.
Here you can see a rock formation of dripping lava when the eruption ended and the rock solidified. Really cool to see those old events recorded into a rock like that. Colors indicate iron and sulfur deposits.
Yep, this place doesn't have this wow factor or epicness to leave you jaw-dropped but for a guy like me, I find areas like that really interesting to discover.
