Girl to become first child to dive between two tectonic plates
A 13-year-old British girl is to make history by becoming the first child to dive between the two tectonic plates that separate the continents of North America and Europe.
Charlotte Burns first had to get special permission from the Icelandic government to attempt the Silfra fissure, considered one of the world’s most beautiful diving locations because of the outstanding clarity of the fresh water that comes off a glacier.
The fissure is located in Iceland’s Thingvellir National Park, which has an age limit: only people 18 years old and above can dive. Charlotte – who is the youngest junior master scuba diver in the world – lobbied for eight months before Iceland agreed to let her dive.
The Silfra fissure is a crack between the continents of North America and Europe, formed by the constant pulling apart of the two tectonic plates. It is the only place on the planet where it is possible to dive directly in the crack between two tectonic plates. In some areas, the space between the two plates is so narrow that divers can actually touch both the North American and European continents at the same time.
Charlotte plans to do the dive towards the end of September and is particularly looking forward to putting out her arms and bridging the gap between the continents. Said the excited girl,
“My dad says that life is about collecting as many experiences as you can. He says life is like an apple orchard and you have a basket and each apple is an experience. And as you collect experiences your basket builds up – and you want to leave with a full basket to remember. And obviously, this will be an amazing experience.”
(All images - credit: Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licence)
