Jökulsárlón is a large glacial lake in the southern part of Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland. Situated at the head of the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, it developed into a lake after the glacier started receding from the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.
The lake has grown since then at varying rates because of the melting of the glaciers. It is now about 8 km away from the ocean’s edge and covers an area of about 18 km2. In 2009 it was reported to be the deepest lake in Iceland, at over 284 m, as glacial retreat extended its boundaries. The size of the lake has increased fourfold since the 1970s.
As a glacier lagoon, Jökulsárlón is a lake that is filled with the meltwater from an outlet glacier. In this case, it is Breiðamerkurjökull, the tongue of Europe’s largest ice cap, Vatnajökull. It stands out, however, due to the fact that it also fills with icebergs breaking from the glacier, some of which tower several stories high.
These icebergs, other than their scale, are notable for their coloration. Although they are, as expected, largely white, most are also dyed electric blue in part, with black streaks of ash from eruptions centuries past.
When the icebergs finally make it across the lagoon, they either drift out to sea or wash up on the nearby shore. Because of the way they glisten against the black sands of Breiðamerkursandur, this area has been nicknamed ‘the Diamond Beach’.
Jökulsárlón and the surrounding area became a park of Vatnajökull National on 7 June 2008. On 5 July 2019, Vatnajökull National Park was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The unique qualities of Vatnajökull National Park are primarily its great variety of landscape features, created by the combined forces of rivers, glacial ice, and volcanic and geothermal activity. The National Park aims to preserve unimpaired the natural beauty of the park for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.
Jökulsárlón has been a setting for four Hollywood movies: A View to a Kill, Die Another Day, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and Batman Begins, as well as the reality TV series The Amazing Race. In 1991, Iceland issued a postage stamp, with a face value of 26 kronur, depicting Jökulsárlón.
According to the Wikipedia/ guidetoiceland
