Iceland: Day 8

We had hoped to be able to start day eight with an Icelandic horseback ride, seeing how the place we were staying was a ranch that offered tours, however due to the late spring the horses had not been brought in for the summer yet, nor had they been ridden since last summer, hence our horseback ride would have to wait until later in the trip.  Instead we headed along the highway in hopes of being able to see a few more waterfalls.  We knew there would be a chance that the road was closed due to snow, but lucky for us it was open and we were able to do the short hike into see Dettifoss and Selfoss.  

 We had no real sense as to how deep the snow was.  But it was deep enough off the frequently travelled paths that we were convinced to stay on them.  The sign below had been dug out, and with good reason we were not able to get very close to the falls or get a wide viewing angle cause you couldn't tell if you were standing on stone under all that snow, or just more snow and ice overhanging the edge. 

 This is Dettifoss, the "most powerful waterfall in all of Europe." Although the water only falls 45 meters, it flows at an impressive rate of 193 m³/s.  It was a little tricky to see due to all the ice and snow.

Travelling a bit up stream, we arrived at Selfoss, a horseshoe shaped waterfall.  Again due to snow we didn't get much closer than this, but it was a very pretty waterfall.

After our explorations in the snow, we continued around the northern stretch of the highway and came to Myvatn - a highly active volcanic area.  

Before arriving at the lake (around which most of the sights can be seen) we stopped by some more steam vents.  Again you'll notice the strength of the wind as it swept away the steam as it gushed from the earth.  

 Next we came across the lagoon not to be mistaken for the Blue Lagoon, despite it's similar appearance.  This one was formed as a pool for a chemical plant and is quite toxic. 

 A fissure pool... temperatures felt quite warm, and our book told us this used to be used as a public bath, however due to levels of certain bacteria swimming is no longer advisable.

 Further around the southern end of Myvatn Lake were a number of pseudocraters.  They look just like a true volcanic crater (see the true crater in the picture below) but they are not connected to any magma source.  They were created by steam explosions as lava travels over wet surfaces (such as the edge of Myvatn lake that these craters are situated upon).

 This is a picture across the lake of a true volcanic crater (the crater that looks like a pile of gravel - the snow capped one in the background might also be a second crater, but we never were able to figure that out for sure).

 Josh standing on one of the lava flows that surround the lake.