Mountains Of Travel Photos
Home | Iceland Main | Iceland References | Contact 

Iceland Photo Gallery - 3. Lake Myvatn and Area

In July and August 2006, we traveled to Dubai, Mount Kailash and Guge Kingdom in Tibet, Muscat, Iceland and a brief stop in London.

Iceland 06 01 Akureyri We drove from Reykjavik to Akureyri in 5 ½ hours. With a population of about 17,000, Akureyri is the second largest city in Iceland, and is the administrative, transportation and commercial center of North Iceland. Akureyri is located at the end of the longest fjord in Iceland, Eyjafjordur.

Iceland 06 01 Akureyri

Iceland 06 02 Akureyri Church The Akureyri church was designed by architect Gudjon Samuelsson and consecrated in 1940, dedicated to Matthias Jochumsson, a poet and the author of the Icelandic National Anthem. The stained-glass windows originated from Coventry Cathedral in England.

Iceland 06 02 Akureyri Church

Iceland 06 03 Godafoss Full View Godafoss (Waterfall of the Gods) is a horseshoe-shaped falls right beside the Ring Road, 40km from Akureyri. It was formed by the glacial waters of the river Skjalfandafljot, which cut through the 8000-year-old Bardoardalur lava field.

Iceland 06 03 Godafoss Full View

Iceland 06 04 Godafoss Close Up Godafoss is where Thorgeir, the Law Speaker who decided that Christianity should be Iceland’s official religion at the historic Alpingi in 1000, destroyed his Norse pagan statues by throwing them over the falls.

Iceland 06 04 Godafoss Close Up

Iceland 06 05 Myvatn Lake and Vindbelgjarfall Lake Myvatn, named after the midges (gnats) in the area, is the centerpiece of a rich volcanic area of lava flows, geothermal activity, craters and rock formations. Myvatn is encircled by a 37km road, with the main settlement of Reykjahlid on the northeastern corner. Here’s a view across the lake from Hofdi to the pseudocraters and the 529m high Vindbelgjarfall (the Windbag).

Iceland 06 05 Myvatn Lake and Vindbelgjarfall

Iceland 06 06 Myvatn Reykjahlid Elda Room We stayed at the small but comfortable bed and breakfast Elda guest house in Reykjahlid.

Iceland 06 06 Myvatn Reykjahlid Elda Room

Iceland 06 07 Myvatn Lake From Hotel Reykjahlid We ate a delicious dinner at Hotel Reykjahlid, overlooking Myvatn, with some of the small Iceland horses grazing contentedly on the shore of the lake.

Iceland 06 07 Myvatn Lake From Hotel Reykjahlid

Iceland 06 08 Myvatn Dimmuborgir Gatklettur The jumbled ‘black castles’ of oddly shaped pillars and crags of Dimmuborgir (Dark Fortress) were created 2000 years ago from a lava pool when the lava was dammed up as it flowed into Lake Myvatn. Pete shows off Gatklettur, a moon-shaped hole in the the lava wall.

Iceland 06 08 Myvatn Dimmuborgir Gatklettur

Iceland 06 09 Myvatn Dimmuborgir Kirkjan Outside One of the most interesting features of Dimmuborgir is a large lava cave known as Kirkjan (the Church).

Iceland 06 09 Myvatn Dimmuborgir Kirkjan Outside

Iceland 06 10 Myvatn Dimmuborgir Kirkjan Inside The large Dimmuborgir lava cave is known as Kirkjan (the Church) because its interior resembles a vaulted Gothic cathedral.

Iceland 06 10 Myvatn Dimmuborgir Kirkjan Inside

Iceland 06 11 Myvatn Pseudocrater About a dozen pseudocraters are on the southern shore of Lake Myvatn right in front of Skutustadir. Pseudocraters were formed as molten lava from the craters east of the lake flowed across existing lava fields into the water. Trapped subsurface water boiled and exploded in steam eruptions through the lava surface, forming small cones and craters.

Iceland 06 11 Myvatn Pseudocrater

Iceland 06 12 Myvatn Hofdi Wildflowers The forested lava headland Hofdi is covered with wildflowers and birch and spruce trees.

Iceland 06 12 Myvatn Hofdi Wildflowers

Iceland 06 13 Myvatn Hofdi Klasur Lava Pillars Hofdi has some of the most interesting klasur (lava pillars) formations on the lake. Across the lake is the 529m high Vindbelgjarfall (the Windbag).

Iceland 06 13 Myvatn Hofdi Klasur Lava Pillars

Iceland 06 14 Myvatn Reykjahlid Blue Lagoon The Reykjahlid ‘blue lagoon’ is a steaming turquoise pool of bore water from the diatomite plant, 1.5km east of the village.

Iceland 06 14 Myvatn Reykjahlid Blue Lagoon

Iceland 07 01 Near Myvatn Namafjall Námafjall is the colourful mountain streaked in grey gypsum and yellow sulphur deposits, puffing smoke next to the Ring Road, just 6km east of Reykjahlid. Here is a view from Hverarond.

Iceland 07 01 Near Myvatn Namafjall

Iceland 07 02 Near Myvatn Hverarond We stopped at Hverir just east of Námafjall and walked around the Hverarond (Namaskard) area.

Iceland 07 02 Near Myvatn Hverarond

Iceland 07 03 Near Myvatn Hverarond Mud Pool At Hverarond, groundwater is heated as it reaches magma and then belches as a blue-gray pool of mud at the surface.

Iceland 07 03 Near Myvatn Hverarond Mud Pool

Iceland 07 04 Near Myvatn Hverarond Fumarole At Hverarond, rocks were stacked up on a fumarole, an opening in the ground where steam is noisily emitted.

Iceland 07 04 Near Myvatn Hverarond Fumarole

Iceland 07 05 Near Myvatn Hverarond Mud Pool Here is another bubbling mud pool at Namaskard.

Iceland 07 05 Near Myvatn Hverarond Mud Pool

Iceland 07 06 Near Myvatn Krafla Viti The Myvatn region lies on an active volcanic belt, with the Leirhnjukur and Krafla Caldera being the most active in the area. Krafla is used for both an 818m mountain and the entire volcanic area. Viti (hell) is an impressive 320m-wide explosion crater flooded with aquamarine-coloured water. A slippery track runs around the rim.

Iceland 07 06 Near Myvatn Krafla Viti

Iceland 07 07 Near Myvatn Leirhnjukur Hill The colourful Leirhnjukur crater is a menacing sulphur-encrusted mud hole. A well-defined track leads northwest from the parking area. Along the way there are steaming vents on the pastel-coloured rhyolite hill.

Iceland 07 07 Near Myvatn Leirhnjukur Hill

Iceland 07 08 Near Myvatn Leirhnjukur Colourful Deposits At Leirhnjukur there are splotches of red or purple marking iron and potash deposits, white or yellow patches indicating live steam vents to be avoided.

Iceland 07 08 Near Myvatn Leirhnjukur Colourful Deposits

Iceland 07 09 Near Myvatn Leirhnjukur Colourful Deposits Here’s another view of Leirhnjukur with splotches colour.

Iceland 07 09 Near Myvatn Leirhnjukur Colourful Deposits

Iceland 07 10 Near Myvatn Leirhnjukur Here’s yet another view of the colourful deposits at Leirhnjúkur crater.

Iceland 07 10 Near Myvatn Leirhnjukur

Iceland 07 11 Dettifoss Jokulsargljufur Canyon We drove on a rough rutted road from the Ringroad to Dettifoss. Just 2km north of Dettifoss is a great view of the deepest and most spectacular section of the Jökulsárgljúfur Canyon, up to 120m deep. The spray from the 27m high Hafragilsfoss can just be seen in the lower left.

Iceland 07 11 Dettifoss Jokulsargljufur Canyon

Iceland 07 13 Dettifoss Long View Dettifoss’s milky, dishwater-grey glacial water falls 44m with the greatest volume of any waterfall in Europe, sending up a plume of spray that often forms brilliant double rainbows above the canyon.

Iceland 07 13 Dettifoss Long View

Iceland 07 14 Dettifoss Close Up You can walk over large rocks and stare directly over the edge of the Dettifoss waterfall. I could just barely see the people on the opposite side of the falls.

Iceland 07 14 Dettifoss Close Up

Iceland 08 01 East Fjord Breiddalsvik We followed the Ring Road from Lake Myvatn. The young fishing village of Breiddalsvik across the bay to the left is beautifully situated in the lowland valley.

Iceland 08 01 East Fjord Breiddalsvik

Iceland 08 02 East Fjord Bulandstindur and Berufjordur fjord We then drove around Berufjordur, a longish, steep-sided fjord flanked by rhyolite peaks. The southwestern shore is dominated by the pyramid-shaped mountain Bulandstindur, which rises 1084m above the water.

Iceland 08 02 East Fjord Bulandstindur and Berufjordur fjord

Iceland 08 03 East Fjord Djupivogur We stopped and had lunch at Djupivogur, the southernmost of the Eastfjord settlements, founded by German traders in 1589. Djupivogur is a tiny pretty village surrounding a sheltered harbour at the southern tip of Berufjordur.

Iceland 08 03 East Fjord Djupivogur

Iceland 08 04 East Fjords End Soon after leaving Djupivogur the east fjords finally recede with the road hugging the shoreline.

Iceland 08 04 East Fjords End

Iceland 08 05 Lon Brunnhorn and Vestrahorn At the western end of Lon (lagoon), the commanding Vestrahorn (575m, Vesturhorn) west peak and its companion to the south Brunnhorn, with three jagged peaks, form a cape.

Iceland 08 05 Lon Brunnhorn and Vestrahorn


This album has 32 items in total    |    Album was updated 2009-03-28 11:37    |    Generated by Jalbum 8.0, custom skin ExhibitPlus 1.5