



Photographer: Gatskas Dimosthenis

Summary Authors: Gatskas Dimosthenis; Jim Foster

When I was a child, I always wanted to visit Iceland since I thought it was a land of wonder where elves and trolls lived. But when I had my first opportunity to visit this magical island, during the winter of 2013, I was captivated by its natural wonders and extraterrestrial-like scenery.

The photo above shows Jökulsárlón, a large glacial lake (7 sq mi or about 18 sq km in size) at the head of Breiðamerkurjökull glacier in extreme southeastern Iceland. Slabs of ice calving off Breiðamerkurjökull fall into this scenic lagoon, which first began to form in the mid-1930s. Jökulsárlón has expanded considerably in recent years as Iceland's glaciers continue to melt -- it's more than doubled in size since 1975. Photo taken on February 12, 2013.



