Spring 1999

GRINDAVIK, Iceland - One of Iceland's biggest tourist attractions, the Blue Lagoon, lies in the middle of a vast lava field where this cloudy pool of effluent from the Svartsengi geothermal power station is said to have curative powers. The station is fuelled by seawater that is super-heated as it passes through the molten lava below. Algae thrives in the 158 F, 18% saline water that emerges from the station's pipes but as the water cools, the algae dies, leaving a sort of organic soup.