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the Degree Confluence Project
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Iceland

5.8 km (3.6 miles) SSE of Keta, Skagafjarðarsýsla, Iceland
Approx. altitude: 124 m (406 ft)
([?] maps: Google MapQuest OpenStreetMap ConfluenceNavigator)
Antipode: 66°S 160°E

Accuracy: 29 m (95 ft)
Quality: good

Click on any of the images for the full-sized picture.

#2: View from the South #3: View to the West #4: View to the North #5: View to the East #6: GPS Reading #7: Ground Zero #8: The Confluence Hunter #9: Bicycle Parking near the Confluence #10: Attempt using the Sleeping Mat #11: Attempt with Sleeping Mat

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  66°N 20°W (visit #3)  

#1: The Confluence from 50 m Distance

(visited by Rainer Mautz)

10-Jul-2019 -- This is the second out of eight reports reaching or attempting confluence points during a 2-week bicycle trip around Iceland. The story starts at 65°N 20°W.

After crossing the interior of Iceland, I reached the northern coast. My goal was to follow the coast and thereby visit the confluence points on the 66th degree latitude.

In order to reach this confluence point, I had to take the gravel road into the Skagi-Peninsular for 23 km. Although this track follows more or less the coast-line, it is very hilly and exhausting for cycling. At 10 AM I had reached the nearest distance to the confluence on the gravel road – which was 800 m. A little side-track brought me up to a distance of 700 m, where I parked my bicycle and hiked along a stream upwards into the mountains.

It is quite a coincidence, but the confluence is in a lake – about 30 m from its shore. When I had reached the nearest point on land (29 m), I thought about a way how to get a zero reading. I had swam to a confluence before, but at that time I was not alone and the water was pleasantly warm.

Certainly, I could swim to the confluence point, but I would have to take my mobile phone and my GPS device with me to take a picture of its display. Since I had no secure bag for my mobile phone (the only device I had with me to take pictures), swimming was not an option. But I had my inflatable sleeping-mat with me. I pumped it up, planning to lie on it while paddling to the zero-location. But, as it turned out, the mat was not meant for its usage as a paddle-boat. I totally sank into the ice-cold water.

Finally, I had to put up with documenting the confluence point from 29 m distance. Good enough for confluence.org, but actually not totally satisfying for me.

After the confluence visit, I returned to my bike and rode the same gravel track back to the main road. I spent the night in the nearby harbour-town called Saudarkrokur.

CP Visit Details:

  • Distance to a road: 800 m
  • Distance to a track: 700 m
  • Distance of bicycle parking: 700 m
  • Time to reach the CP from the road: 20 minutes
  • Time at the CP: 10:50 AM
  • Measured height: 136 m
  • Minimal distance according to GPS: 29 m
  • Position accuracy: 3 m
  • Topography: hilly
  • Vegetation: grass, moss, lichen. At the confluence in the water just stones and a thin layer of algae.
  • Weather: cloudy, 15° C (felt temperature)
  • Given Name: The Sleeping-Mat Confluence

The story continues at 66°N 19°W.


 All pictures
#1: The Confluence from 50 m Distance
#2: View from the South
#3: View to the West
#4: View to the North
#5: View to the East
#6: GPS Reading
#7: Ground Zero
#8: The Confluence Hunter
#9: Bicycle Parking near the Confluence
#10: Attempt using the Sleeping Mat
#11: Attempt with Sleeping Mat
ALL: All pictures on one page
  Notes
In a small lake.