1. Northeast IcelandMývatn & Jökulsárgljúfur August 2011

2. Jökulsárgljúfur National Park Ásbyrgi – A horseshoe-shaped canyon. Norse legend says it is the hoof print of Sleipnir, the god Óðinn’s horse. Geologists believe it was formed by a huge jökulhlaup, a flood created by volcanic eruptions beneath an ice cap or glacier.

4. Vesturdalur (West Valley) in Jökulsárgljúfur National Park

5. Hljóðaklettar – “Echoing Rocks”, series of basalt rock formations

12. Selfoss

15. Dettifoss– Europe’s most powerful waterfall

22. Krafla Volcanic Region Looking towards the main Leirhnjúkur fissure, part of a system of fissures above a large magma chamber, still highly active. The last major eruption was in 1984 and the ground is currently swelling, indicating a possible approaching eruption. Krafla itself has not erupted since the 1720s.

23. Stóra-VitiCrater (“Hell ”), formed during the 1724 Krafla eruption. Krafla itself in the background.

24. Kröflustöð Geothermal Power Station

26. Hverir and Námafjall Mountain

27. Hverir – world of bubbling mud pots and fumaroles. Stick to the paths to avoid sinking into 200°C water!

30. The steaming earth is hot enough for locals to bake bread called hverabrauð, which they bake underground for 24 hours.

31. Hlíðarfjall

32. Hverfell – tephra cone formed 2500 years ago in a huge eruption

33. Bjarnarflag Geothermal Power Station

34. Jarðböðin Nature Baths Heated outflow water from the Bjarnarflag geothermal power plant supplies the water

36. A great way to watch the sunset and less touristy than the Blue Lagoon

38. Sunset over Mývatn

40. Sunset at my guesthouse – Bjarg guesthouse and campsite on Lake Mývatn

42. View from my room

43. Breakfast at Bjarg campsite The owner of Bjarg rents out his front lawn, as well as rooms in his house, in the summer.

44. Lava fields from the 1729 Leirhnjúkur eruption that threatened the town of Reykjahlíð

45. Mývatn

46. Day Hike to Hverfell Crater

47. Stóragjá fissure – looking towards Reykjahlíð

49. Geothermal hot spring in Stóragjá

53. Lava fields

54. Looking towards Hlíðarfjall

55. A couple from Akureyri hike towards Hverfell

56. Inside Grjótagjá – a fissure with hot spring-filled caves. Like a steamy sauna!

57. The water ranges between 44-48°C – sometimes too hot for swimming

58. The Akureyri couple show me the different caves. We found evidence of a late night soak – candles tucked into the rocks.

59. Grjótagjá Fissure

61. Hverfell

65. Lava fields from the hike up Hverfell

66. On the top of Hverfell, a tephra crater of ash and pumice

68. View of Lake Mývatn and pseudocraters

72. Dimmuborgir – field of columnar lava formations

79. Dimmuborgir’s lava formations formed when a lava lake burst through the cooled, hardened crust, leaving behind strange vertical formations, about 2000 years ago.

80. Pseudocraters on Lake Mývatn – formed when boiling lake water burst up through the lava

81. Bláfjall – a table mountain formed by a subglacial eruption, when the region was covered by an ice cap. Eruptions under the ice cap created numerous móberg mountains.

83. Vogafjós Café – a café on a lakeshore farm.

84. Watch the cows being milked and fed while sipping coffee at the cafe

85. Hverabrauð (bread baked for 24 hours in the ground using geothermal heat) and hangikjöt (smoked lamb)