Hraunfossar

Hraunfossar is a series of rivulets that come out of the lava.

Shoreline at Hraunfossar

Black sand lines the river at Hraunfossar. Hraun means lava.

The Troll

We got to the Hvitsekur sea stack just as the last light was on the troll.

Aurora Over Farmhouse

While waiting for the lunar eclipse, I noticed what seemed to be backlight clouds on the opposite horizon. Gee, that sure looks like the shape of the arc that precedes an aurora.... Hey, those clouds are moving just like a curtain and a corona..... But the clips is the other direction, I can't move my camera. So this is the leftovers of the aurora, when the eclipse was in it's totality and it was too cold for me to wait for the moon to emerge again.

Lunar Eclipse

We'd had a long day of driving and very few of us were interested in photographing the eclipse, so I just walked up the hill behind our lodgings. I found that if I stayed below the crest of the hill, I was mostly sheltered from the wind and the lights from town.

Electric Moss

At the sea cliffs by Hofsos, the green moss stood out against the black basalt cliffs.

Rock Nest

Iron leaching from somewhere stained these rocks nestled in the cliffs

Fire Ridge

The wind was a steady 10m/sec, gusting higher and cold at Namafjall geothermal area. When the sun rose, it lit the underside of this ridge dramatically.

Sunset Craters

Another geothermal area in North Iceland.

Cracked Earth

Detail at a geothermal area.

Mossy Ridge

Leirhnjukur, a lava field in the Krafla area. I took shelter from the wind in an old caldera.

Basalt Faces

The two pieces in the upper right reminded me of the 2 masks of drama that represent the division between comedy & tragedy.

Feral Garden

The lushness of Asbyrgi made me think of a Japanese garden gone wild.

Caldera Moss

Leirhnjukur lava field, from the Krafla eruptions. The last eruptions were from 1975-1984

Aldeyjarfoss panorama

Pronounced Al-day-yar-foss.

Churning

Aldeyjarfoss falls so powerfully, it creates a standing wave at its base

Basalt Columns

Some detail of the basalt architecture at Aldeyjarfoss

Selfoss

Only 11 meters high, Selfoss is still an impressive waterfall. It's just upstream from Dettifoss, the most powerful waterfall in Europe.

Before the Fall

Water at the edge of Selfoss

The River Boulders

Along the road was a wetlands with boulders and some nice reflections.

Lakejavik Sea Stack

A moody i.e. cloudy and overcast beach. A bit of green highlighted this sea stack near Hvalnes.

Misty Boulders

A bit farther up the beach from the sea stack were these boulders being washed by the ocean.

Stokksnes

Always windy, but always dramatic, the black sand & gold and green grasses make a nice foreground for the mountains at Stokksnes.

Aurora at the Iceberg Lagoon

An early start let us see the Aurora and its reflection over the icebergs at Jokulsarlon.

Iceberg Sunrise

After the Aurora faded, we were treated to a wonderful sunrise at Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon.

Lichen and leaves

Nestled in a field of moss sat this rock dressed in lichen and a crown of leaves.

Delicate Ice

A rainy day at the glacier lagoon made the sky and water melt together. This delicate little iceberg collapsed within a half hour after photographing it.

Circle of Elders

A gathering of icebergs in the lagoon

Red Leaves & Moss

The mossy boulders of the Laki lava field are a favorite stop. The moss is thick and soft, covers the lava field and gives rise to other plants.

Laki Lava and moss

The moss is so thick & soft it's tempting to walk on, but doing so will crush and/or tear it. It takes 80 years for the moss to recover.

Yellow blur at Svartifoss

On one side of the waterfall called Svartifoss it was calm. On the other, the wind was blowing furiously.

Columns of Green

The cracks in basalt provide places for plants to grow.