Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon
9 July 2019
At the southeastern side of the Vatnajökull glacier, sheets of glacial ice flow down the mountainside toward the sea. There is a little break in the beach where the seawater flows inland and mixes with the icy pools from the receding glacier. When the iceflow meets the salty, tidal water, ice chunks break off the glacial sheet and become icebergs. Normally these icebergs would float out to sea where they would melt into the ocean, unless they are really large chunks that would float far out to sea, potentially sinking unsinkable ships and interrupting Leo DiCaprios of the world from drawing their naked Kate Winslet as a French girl pictures. But the narrow opening, deep near-freezing water, and wide banks instead make a large lagoon for the trapped icebergs to sit, creating a stunningly beautiful, chillingly atmospheric location.
This is the Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon.
The area is also known as Diamond Beach, because the icebergs sit in the water, slowly melting until they are washed ashore as small, clear chunks of glacial ice. Across the beach you will see thousands of these small ice forms washed ashore, looking like gemstones scattered across the sand. It is truly a magical place.
We found a spot to park along the road, down a bit from the main stopping area of Diamond Beach. There was a volcanic sand dune between us and the lagoon, so we couldn’t see what lay ahead of us as we climbed the hill. As we reached the peak, the view of Jökulsárlón opened up before us, a sight that absolutely stunned me in a way I will never forget…
I am familiar now with looking out over beautiful, forested landscapes, the green trees and flowing fields covering softly rolling hills to the horizon. I am familiar with looking out over a sprawling medieval city with its crumbling stone buildings, ancient rooftops, and cobbled streets. I am familiar with looking over the crashing waves out to the mighty sea, ships catching the wind in their sails and the sun glistening off the rippling water…
But there is something special about the sight before me at Jökulsárlón – the trails of ice flowing down from the glacier in the mountains to meet the water, the hazy, overcast sky diffusing the light just so perfectly to highlight the deep blue cores of the floating ice, the damp chill of the freezing cold air as it cuts right to the bone, the crackling of the melting ice and crashing of larger icebergs out in the lagoon serving as the only sounds to break the silent stillness that surrounded us, and the shining crystals along the beach, remnants of a mighty glacier, now seeming to glow in the soft light as they sit on the dark stones.
I have enjoyed everything I’ve had the privilege to see in every place I’ve been, but there are a few spots in the world that are held as extra-special, places that touched me in a way like nowhere else. Jökulsárlón is one of those places.
We waked down the slope right to the water’s edge, the freezing cold air not much of a deterrence as we were eager to explore this amazing place. The gray clouds hung low in the sky, covering the peaks of the mountains in a dark blanket, but diffusing a pleasantly soft light on the ice and the water. The dark grey of the sky and water seemed purposely contrasting to showcase the deep blue glow emanating from the center of the ice blocks, that same deep blue that we saw as we stood at the foot of the glacier itself. The ice seemed to melt irregularly, making for unique shapes among the floating chunks. The small “diamonds” that washed ashore were either crystal clear or webbed with crackling texture, most small enough to easily pick up and admire. Icebergs melt from the outside in, so these little crystals were once at the center of the giant floating ice chunks. Massive icebergs sat further out to the middle of the lagoon, the white and deep blue marked with stripes of black ash from recent volcanic eruptions. If you were down further at the main entrance to Diamond Beach, there were tours giving boat rides through the lagoon. I’m sure that would have been an experience, but we were more than content enjoying the quiet solitude of the shore.
We seemed to lose track of time at the lagoon. Our camp was still a bit of a distance away and it was clear we needed to move on, yet I found it impossible to pull myself away from the ice. It was something so simple, really… just cold air, a little inlet from the sea, and chunks of frozen water. I have no idea how something so simple managed to take up a residence right in the core of my soul, but it did. Words and pictures can never truly capture the impact of Jökulsárlón, its magic needs to be experienced.
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