Diamond Beach across from Jökulsárlón, a glacier lagoon in Iceland
© surangaw/Getty Image
Sparkling ice diamonds on a black sandy beach
The icebergs stranded on this magnificent black sandy beach in Iceland are what give Diamond Beach its name. Sparkling like gems, they're a natural museum of sorts for tourists who flock to this beach year-round to walk among the nature-made sculptures, with some icebergs as tall as the tourists themselves.
It’s about a five-hour drive east from the capital of Reykjavik to get here. But the biggest attraction in this area is Jökulsárlón, the glacial lake just across the Ring Road from this beach. It's a sparkling, still, blue lagoon dotted with huge glacial icebergs, which tourists motor around via pontoon boats. The lake began forming in 1934, when the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier started retreating, leaving the lagoon in its path. The lake's size has increased fourfold since the 1970s.
Related Images
Sandhill cranes taking flight over the Platte River near Kearney, Nebraska, USA
Houseboats parked on the banks of Jhelum River, Kashmir
At the top of Mount Fuji in Japan. Happy New Year!
View of Orchha, Madhya Pradesh
Winter at the Isis Temple in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Chital, spotted deer in misty grassland at dawn, Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh, India
Wildflowers in bloom at Lost Dutchman State Park in Arizona, USA
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China
Bing Today Images
