
Iceland, which belongs to Northern Europe, is a country with a very cold climate. Spread about 103,000 square kilometres, this State has a small population of about 364,000. Therefore, Iceland remains among the least populated countries. Iceland’s natural topography has led to a large decrease in population.
Iceland is a country with volcanoes, sand dunes, hot springs, lava deposits and glaciers. The four most famous glaciers in Iceland are Vatnajokull, Mardalsjokull, Lianjokull and Snaefellsjokull. Among them, about 2500 years old Vatnajokull is considered to be the largest glacier not only in Iceland but also in Europe.
Spread over an area of 8,100 square kilometres, this large glacier covers almost eight percent of the area of Iceland. The average thickness of the ice in this glacier is about 400 metres, and its maximum thickness is recorded as 1,000 metres.
In 2008, several other nature reserves including Skaftafell, Jokulsargljufer were merged into Vatnajokull National Park to create a large national park. The national park covers about 13 percent of the country’s total area. Due to the importance of Vatnajokull National Park, it was named as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2019. In 1934, the lake region of the Vatnajokull glacier erupted. Therefore, research work was done in connection with this glacier.
Glacier
Eruptions occurred in the lake region in 1996, 1998, 2004, and 2011. Since the establishment of the Icelandic Glacier Science Society in 1950, research has been carried out on this glacier every year.
There are seven active volcanoes under the Vatnajokull Glacier. Among them, Grmsvatn, Bardarbunga and Kverkfjoll volcanoes are the major ones. Due to the periodic eruptions of these volcanoes, glaciers melt and floods occur. In 1362, a huge flood was created due to such an eruption that took place near the Vatnajokull glacier. Similarly, in 1727, a deadly flood occurred.
On both occasions, there was extensive property damage. There are about 30 other small glaciers in the Vatnajokull glacier. The largest glacier is Breedemarkkurjokull. Havandalshnakur, Iceland’s highest peak, is also on the Vatnajokull glacier. Among the beautiful places on the Vatnajokull glacier is the lagoon called Jokulsarlon.
The largest glacier within Vatnajokull, Bridamarkurjokull, feeds the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon. With a depth of 284 metres, this glacier lagoon is the deepest reservoir in Iceland.
The water of Jokulsarlon, a beautiful glacier lagoon, has a brighter blue colour than other lagoons. Five movies were shot there due to the beauty of the lagoon.
Those are the four Hollywood movies ‘A View to a Kill’, ‘Die Another Day’, ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider’ and ‘Batman Begins’. Also, the filming of the television series ‘Amazing Race’ took place there. A stamp issued in 1991 featured the lagoon and a large number of tourists visit the place because of its beauty.
Volcanic eruptions
Between the Hof and Hofn areas, which is on the Southeast coast of Iceland, there is a beach called Breioamerkursandur. As a result of volcanic eruptions, the sands of that beach have turned black. Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon is near the Breioamerkursandur beach. Large chunks of ice break off from the glacier, which feeds the lagoon, and wash up on the shore.
Large pieces of ice drifting like this accumulate on the black sand of the beautiful beach. Because of the generally cold climate in Iceland, the ice pieces do not melt easily. Therefore, the pieces of ice collected on the shores remain as they are. This beach is called “Diamond Beach” because the ice cubes look like diamonds.
Diamond Beach can be visited in any season of the year. During winter in Iceland, there is less light during the day. Also, the environment is very cold. Therefore, tourists visiting Diamond Beach in winter have to face challenging conditions. During the summer, there are long days. Then the temperature of the environment takes a value between 8-14 Celsius. Therefore, the tourists who come here in summer can happily spend the day around the beach. Tourists who come to Diamond Beach in the morning and evening can watch the sunrise and sunset.