Trips: Iceland - Land Of Fire And Ice 2015

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.

One of the great and moving natural scenes in all the world.
Jokulsaron Grandeur

One of the great and moving natural scenes in all the world.

Every day the tide enters and leaves the Jokulsaron Lagoon via a quarter mile inlet, sweeping icebergs into the North Atlantic...
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.

The midnight sun "sets" behind Mt. Kirkjufell only to rise minutes later above the mountains and its waterfall, Kirjufellsfoss...
Kirkjufellsfoss

The midnight sun "sets" behind Mt. Kirkjufell only to rise minutes later above the mountains and its waterfall, Kirjufellsfoss.

After the crowds had disappeared, the sun made a belated appeared late evening appearance, bathing the Skogafoss and its nearby...
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.

During midsummer, puffins return to the cliffs high above the ocean in Reynisfjara or black sand beach, often raising families...
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.

A large field of lupines glow below the massive glaciers of Vatnajokull, the largest glacier below the polar regions.
Lupines to Glaciers

A large field of lupines glow below the massive glaciers of Vatnajokull, the largest glacier below the polar regions.

A powerful storm kicks up massive waves that pulverize these once mighty icebergs.
Ocean Fury

A powerful storm kicks up massive waves that pulverize these once mighty icebergs.

A soft waves cascades over this blue chunk of ice.
Water on Ice

A soft waves cascades over this blue chunk of ice.