The Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon and adjacent Diamond Beach are a magical place located on the Southeast coast along Route 1 in Iceland.

Iceland’s Breiðamerkurjökull is an outlet glacier of the larger Vatnajökull glacier which has retreated about 3.5 miles (8 km) from the Atlantic Ocean leaving a proglacial lake or lagoon formed in the depression left where the retreating glacier had been.  As the glacier continues to retreat, the the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon grows larger. Icebergs slowly reduce in size as they flow through the lagoon towards the Atlantic.

In the first two compositions you can faintly see the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier in the distant background. Jökulsá á Breiðamerkursandi is a short glacial river flowing from the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon into the Atlantic Ocean. Here the rushing water further reduces the size of icebergs.

When iceberg ice appears blue it’s because of the dense ice, formed from highly compressed snow leaving no air bubbles, which absorbs longer wavelengths of light (red, yellow, and orange) and scatters shorter, blue wavelengths.

Finally, dramatically reduced icebergs reach the Atlantic only to wash back up as pieces by the tide onto the black volcanic sandy shores of Diamond Beach. Here you can easily take hundreds of spectacular photos!

Thank you for taking time to visit my blog. I apologize for not posting is such a long time. Though I post weekly over on Monochromia, life has just been crazy. My recent 30th anniversary trip to Iceland and Baltic region with my wife has inspired me to set aside more time to post. For the best viewing experience, click to see a high resolution version.

Cheers!

C. S.