Friday, April 16, 2010

Above: Cooler times on Eyjafjallajökull (in 2007). This is the southern Iceland glacier that covers the volcano that erupted in March and April 2010 after being dormant for nearly 190 years. The most recent eruption shut down air travel across much of Europe by sending volcanic ash, a danger to aircraft, into the atmosphere.


Above: An iceberg at Jökulsárlón, a glacial lake in southern Iceland. (A glacial lake has its origins in a melting glacier.) A number of films have had scenes shot at Jökulsárlón, including Tomb Raider, Batman Begins, and the James Bond films Die Another Day and A View to a Kill.

Above: A scene in southern Iceland.


Above: Traditional Icelandic turf houses at the Skógar museum in southern Iceland. Such houses offered better insulation than those made only of wood or stone.

Above: "Pseudo-craters" along Lake Mývatn in northern Iceland. Pseudo-craters were formed by steam explosions as flowing hot lava crossed over lakes or other wet surfaces. Explosive gases broke through the lava surface, leaving crater-like forms which look similar to real volcanic craters. Structures appearing to be pseudo-craters have also been discovered on Mars.

Above: Geothermal spa at the Bláa lónið ("Blue Lagoon") in Grindavík, which is on the south-western coast of Iceland. The waters are rich in silica, sulfur, and algae and have an average temperature of 38°C / 100°F. The lagoon is fed by the water output of a nearby geothermal power.

3 comments:

小喬 said...

wow nice blog!

Anonymous said...

the third to last picture looks like something out of the hobbit!

Anonymous said...

Hey, I love your photos..they are really nice...