Bridge Between Continents
A footbridge over a fissure, marketed as the gap between two continents and honest enough to be symbolic.
Saved in this browser only - no account, nothing sent anywhere. See your map
The bridge is a small steel footbridge, about fifteen metres long, thrown across the Alfagja fissure on the Reykjanes peninsula, with signs at either end naming Europe and North America. The geology behind it is real - Reykjanes is where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge comes ashore, and the plates are pulling apart at roughly two centimetres a year - but the boundary is a zone tens of kilometres wide rather than a line, so this particular crack is a representative one rather than the join itself. The site says as much. Certificates are sold nearby for crossing. It takes ten minutes and sits close enough to the airport for a stop on the way out.
What you actually see
- A fifteen metre footbridge - over the Alfagja fissure.
- Real geology behind it - the ridge comes ashore here, spreading about two centimetres a year.
- A symbolic line - the plate boundary is a wide zone, not this crack.
- A ten minute stop - close to the airport.
When to go
Year round. Half an hour.
Honest expectations
This is a photo stop and nothing more; visitors expecting a chasm are disappointed. Sand blows hard across the site. The ground around the fissure is loose and unfenced in places. Facilities are a car park.
Nearby
Gunnuhver and Reykjanesviti are minutes south; Grindavik is east.
What to pack for Bridge Between Continents
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
