|
Our
Beautiful World
|
ICELAND 2004
Jökulsárlón
  We soon learned that behind the next curve on the road, a new Iceland showed up. From one surprise to another. This was one of them : Jökulsárlón. A lagune full of icebergs, right beside the mainroad.   Some smaller ones had come ashore, and what really surprised us, was that the ice was no longer a compact mass, but kind of crystallized.  Interesting and very nice-looking. Compare this piece of ice with the icebergs drifting around below:  In the background you can see the ice-cap Vatnajökull coming down, and on the edge it calfes off the smaller icebergs. I don't believe the black spots are all pollution, it might well also be ash and volcanic material left over from earlier eruptions in the area.(?)   It was hard to believe that any animals could live in this lagoon with a temperature that must be very, very close to the freezing point, but as we looked around, more and more life showd up. Seals and eider.ducks were all over the area, in between the ice-bergs.  This really was a day for big surprises. This duck is not the most common back home. We once met one in Malmö in Sweden long time ago, and according to a norwegian guide-book on birds, there have only been seven observations in Norway, the latest in 1994. However, it is more common on Iceland, Siberia and Canada. Its name? Histrionicus histrionicus, it's as simple as that. Or Harlequin duck if you prever a more common name.   |
 ANIMALS over 250 |
 BIRDS over 500 |
 FLOWERS over 225 |
  |
This page has been made with Macromedia Dreamweaver