Keflavik

The Blue Lagoon, near Keflavik, is one of Iceland's most popular tourist destinations. It is not a natural geothermal spring; it is a pale blue pool of hot water emitted from the Svastgensi geothermal power plant. Algae thrive in the hot saline water, but as the water cools in the air they die. The silica-rich mud on the floor of the lagoon, and the dead algae in the water, combine to give the lagoon its colour.

Town and fishing port in Iceland, on the south coast of Faxa Bay, 35 km/22 mi southwest of Reykjavik; population (2006 est) 8,200. Its international airport is the largest in Iceland and one of the largest in the world; it was built during World War II by US forces (who called it Meeks Field). Keflavik became a NATO base in 1951. The town's geothermally heated waters are used to provide power, and form warm bathing pools which attract tourists, as does the nearby ‘Blue Lagoon’.