Architecture!

At lake Myvatn the nature has constructed pseudo craters. But what the heck are pseudo craters?

Long time ago, when the glowing lava was flowing over water and swamps the steam from the boiling water was trying to get to the surface and lifted the lava up into conical shapes. These 'megabubbles' are called pseudo craters.

By the way: this is not an aerial view - I was 'mountaineering'...

About 80 percent of all sights to visit in Iceland are natural sights. Everywhere it can be observed, that nature is 'creating' and its architecture is lovely and often very regular.

Picture: Basalt pillars at Litlanesfoss near Lögurinn. They were probably the model for the front of the church of Hallgrims in Reykjavik?

Basalt pillars are created when thin lava cools slowly in big quantities. The lava shrinks and builds penta- or hexagonal pillars vertically to the surface. It is assumed, that this form originates from the structure of silicon. (main constituent of rock)

On the picture the beach of Reynisfjara near Vik.

One of the most beautiful waterfalls in Iceland is the Aldeyarfoss. It is situated a little off the main routes, but it connects a lot of water, basalt pillars, an arena and a roaring glacial river. Just fantastic! 

Panoramic picture of the Aldeyarfoss (93kb)

I'll better keep the circumstances under which some of the (panoramic) pictures were made a secret...