Iceland is a land of far flung peninsulas and, at least in the summer, almost 24 hours of light. Large waterfalls dot the landscape and there seems to be more sheep than people. But the most moving experience was traversing across Iceland's glaciers and seeing firsthand the effects of global warming as giants slabs of ice break off those glaciers every day into a nearby lagoon, to float to the sea where they get destroyed by wave, sun and salt, finally getting deposited on so-called Diamond Beach for their final death.
Trips: Iceland - Land Of Fire And Ice 2015
Jokulsaron Grandeur
One of the great and moving natural scenes in all the world.
Orphans on the Beach
Every day the tide enters and leaves the Jokulsaron Lagoon via a quarter mile inlet, sweeping icebergs into the North Atlantic where they are battered into pieces, eroded and then deposited by the tide on the black sand beaches. When I arrived at 5:00 this morning following a powerful storm, I was stunned: thousands of icebergs had been orphaned as far as the eye could see by the prior nights ferocious tide.
Kirkjufellsfoss
The midnight sun "sets" behind Mt. Kirkjufell only to rise minutes later above the mountains and its waterfall, Kirjufellsfoss.
Skogafoss at Twilight
After the crowds had disappeared, the sun made a belated appeared late evening appearance, bathing the Skogafoss and its nearby hills in a warm light.
Three Puffins
During midsummer, puffins return to the cliffs high above the ocean in Reynisfjara or black sand beach, often raising families in the same burrows and nests where they were born.
Lupines to Glaciers
A large field of lupines glow below the massive glaciers of Vatnajokull, the largest glacier below the polar regions.
Ocean Fury
A powerful storm kicks up massive waves that pulverize these once mighty icebergs.
Water on Ice
A soft waves cascades over this blue chunk of ice.