The Icelandic Environment Agency has been trying to crack down on the practice of throwing small coins and change into hot springs, installing signs explaining to travellers that the practice is banned as well as mounting clean-up efforts to fish coins out of springs. One hot spring in the Geysir geothermal area, Blesi, yielded 10,000 ISK in small change when volunteers cleaned the spring last summer.
Read more: Half of Icelanders fear tourism is damaging nature according to a new poll
A spokesman for the Icelandic Environment Agency told the local newspaper Morgunblaðið that the practice had gradually evolved into a plague, especially in the Geysir area. The spring Blesi, a twin pool of crystal clear and deep turquoise blue water, has been particularly popular among travellers who can't resist the urge of trying to leave their personal mark on nature and damage natural formations.
You should never throw coins into hot springs
The problem has abated after the agency installed signs instructing visitors they should under no circumstances throw things into the springs, but thera are always some people who think the rules don't apply to them. To deal with this problem the agency regularly cleans the springs, removing small change which might send the wrong signal to visitors.
Last summer we had a group of volunteers from Britain who were working on all kinds of projects. I had one of the group fish coins out of Blesi, telling him he could keep all the money he managed to gather. He used a hand net on a long stick to fish the coins out, netting 10,000 kronas.
Coin throwing by visitors to the Yellowstone in the US has permanently altered the color of one of the most famous hot springs in the park, Morning Glory. The Smithsonian Magazine writes that in the 1940s the spring had a deep blue color, today its color is deep green and bright yellow.
The Icelandic Environment Agency has been trying to crack down on the practice of throwing small coins and change into hot springs, installing signs explaining to travellers that the practice is banned as well as mounting clean-up efforts to fish coins out of springs. One hot spring in the Geysir geothermal area, Blesi, yielded 10,000 ISK in small change when volunteers cleaned the spring last summer.
Read more: Half of Icelanders fear tourism is damaging nature according to a new poll
A spokesman for the Icelandic Environment Agency told the local newspaper Morgunblaðið that the practice had gradually evolved into a plague, especially in the Geysir area. The spring Blesi, a twin pool of crystal clear and deep turquoise blue water, has been particularly popular among travellers who can't resist the urge of trying to leave their personal mark on nature and damage natural formations.
You should never throw coins into hot springs
The problem has abated after the agency installed signs instructing visitors they should under no circumstances throw things into the springs, but thera are always some people who think the rules don't apply to them. To deal with this problem the agency regularly cleans the springs, removing small change which might send the wrong signal to visitors.
Last summer we had a group of volunteers from Britain who were working on all kinds of projects. I had one of the group fish coins out of Blesi, telling him he could keep all the money he managed to gather. He used a hand net on a long stick to fish the coins out, netting 10,000 kronas.
Coin throwing by visitors to the Yellowstone in the US has permanently altered the color of one of the most famous hot springs in the park, Morning Glory. The Smithsonian Magazine writes that in the 1940s the spring had a deep blue color, today its color is deep green and bright yellow.
