Iceland:

Artificially Heated Nautholsvik Geothermal Beach, Iceland (Amusing Planet)

(Courtesy 40pools.wordpress.com)

In Iceland the sea is normally far too cold to tempt swimmers, but at Nautholsvik bay in Reykjavik, the capital city of Iceland, a thermal beach has been created, where natural hot water flows out into the sea, and you can frolic in the waves as if you were in the Mediterranean.

The geothermal beach in Nautholsvik was opened in 2000. Golden beach sand was brought in all the way from Morocco and an enclosure was created by erecting a big seawall to form an artificial lagoon. Hot geothermal water is diverted into the lagoon where it fuses with the cold seawater and brings the temperature up from a chilly 4°- 6°C to a comfortable 15°-19°C. The goal with this project was to make the bay a diverse outdoor area with numerous possibilities such as sunbathing, sea bathing and sailing.

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