Ice Cave Network beneath Iceland’s Giant Vatnajokull Glacier

The magnificent ice cave of Iceland’s Vatnajokull glacier appear in a kaleidoscope of colors as the light and conditions change in these incredible photographs by local guide Einar Runar Sigurosson. More than two hundred British tourists annually brave the network of caves in Europe's largest glacier mass found in the south of Iceland where Einar runs tours for profound photographers throughout the winter, the only time visitors can go inside. The ice takes on the form of massive teeth or gigantic waves trapped in suspended animation in the maze of interconnected frozen chambers and they can be a glowing blue as they enhance the sky's reflection or close fluorescent oranges and reds when a fire is lit inside. He has taken these photographs on the south side of Vatnajokull glacier, which is beautifully, covers over 8,100 square kilometers or over 8% of Iceland and is estimated to have a volume of 3300 cubic km. Every year, in autumn, we’re start looking for the ice cave visit, and we find caves in several different locations on the south side of Vatnajokull.

Sometimes they are very different, sometimes not as exceptional but become distinctive in the right light and conditions. Sigurosson runs the ice cave tours with his wife “Matt” and son “Aron” through their company Local Guide of Vatnajokull, formerly known as From Coast to Mountains. Some caves are very stable and we can go in there in any weather, but others are less safe and we might not even go there at all, even if they are very beautiful. However some caves are only accessible in below zero conditions for example if there is water in the floor that needs to be frozen over to walk into the cave.

Ponte Vasco da Gama Bridge! One of Longest Bridge in Europe

The Vasco da Gama Bridge is a cable stayed bridge flanked by viaducts and range views that spans the Tagus River in Parque das Nacoes in Lisbon, capital of Portugal.  The magnificent bridge is 17km long though 10km of which pass over water, making it the longest bridge in Europe when it was opened in 1998 and still today one of the longest in the world.

Vasco da Gama has the same length as the road-rail tunnel-bridge linking Denmark and Sweden. The bridge vastness enforced engineers to factor in the curvature of the earth during its construction. That makes it a wonderful feat of engineering, made up of numerous sections supported by pillars, built at a cost of one billion US dollars.  Ponte Vasco da Gama bridge was well inaugurated on March 31, 1998 after 18 months of day/night work construction, and just in time to carry visitors from southern Portugal, Spain, and other parts of Europe to Expo98.

The Vasco da Gama is surely not as charismatic as the Lisbon’s other bridge the golden arched Ponte 25 de Abril but its sheer size and ability just to stretch out into the horizon is an engineering marvel. Lisbon has always been plagued with heavy traffic issues and during the mid-90’s traveling south out of Lisbon had become insupportable with the six lanes Ponte 25 de Abril simply unable to handle the volumes of commuters. Suggestions for a new bridge had been bounced around for decades but the distance to traverse, poor foundations and possibility of seismic activity had always pushed the construction costs beyond that of which the government could have the funds for.

The opening of the bridge coincided with the opening of Expo 98 as floods of Spanish and European tourists traveled to Lisbon from the east of the city. The value presently set for enlargement is when the average number of cars exceeds 52,000 per day and it is expected with the next 6 years. The bridge has a life expectancy more than 120 years, having been designed to withstand wind speeds of 250 km/h and hold up to an earthquake 4.5 times stronger than the historical 1755 Lisbon earthquake estimated at 8.7 on the Richter scale.

Source: Charismatic Planet

Shiraito Falls Japan

There’re several scenic places created by the eruptions near Mt. Fuji. Shiraito Falls is one of them, and a waterfall where spring water of Mt. Fuji flows down in hundreds of threads on the surface of a 20 meters high and 200 meters wide rock wall.  The majestic natural Shiraito Falls is a waterfall in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, near Mount Fuji, Japan. It is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park and has been protected since 1936 as a Japanese Natural Monument. The waterfalls were considered as sacred under the Fuji cult. The Shiraito Waterfall particularly is distinct due to its wide percolating series of weeping walls through moss and other foliage that stretched for such a wide width that almost no way any photograph could do it justice. 

The Shiraito Falls is listed as one of the "Japan’s Top 100 Waterfalls", in a listing published by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment in 1990. It was also selected by the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun and Osaka Mainichi Shimbun. The waterfall is one of the 100 Landscapes of Japan in 1927. Therefore in 2013 the waterfall was listed to the World Heritage List as part of the Fujisan Cultural Site. Another waterfall, the Otodome Falls is about a 5 minute walk away. The waterfall is completely naturesque and peaceful, and it is one of favorite waterfalls in the country. The Shiraito-no-taki is scenic allure to visitors, and its pool at its base exhibited deep blue colors water. The waterfall is perfectly picnic place for both families and groups.  

The scenery of water rushing down from a fault slip of lava created by eruptions is a magnificent view that cannot be seen elsewhere. Shiraito Falls are a graceful expanse of waterfalls that are formed by the Fuji River water, snow water and spring water around Mount Fuji, merging together as a single flow and falling off. Shiraito falls literally meaning “white thread falls”. The area is also well vegetated in spring, and the crimson colors of the maple trees in fall complement the attractiveness of the waterfall.

Shiraito Falls from Armadas on Vimeo.

The Valley of the Moon Argentina

Ischigualasto Provincial Park is located about 300 kilometers away from the capital of San Juan. It is better known as Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon). Ischigualasto, meaning “the place where you put the moon” is a remote valley in Argentina. The strange clay formation, with a great variety of hues, shapes and different layers of mineral and sediments, offers a glimpse of the Earth evolution in the Triassic Period. It is studded with geological formations left by wind erosion, remarkable standing stones and boulders that are so rounded just like massive marbles. 

The valley's which was once-fertile ground is now arid and contains several plant and animal fossils that paleontologists come from all over the world to study them. The erosion over the millennia unearths the fossils and other geological formations such as a host of almost spherical concretions. The wind, unstoppable and patient, has pounded the local bedrock for an age. It is revealed, the boulders that mudstone in its original wet form, helped to form look as if giants have been playing marbles. It is worth mentioning millions of years later, different movements and collisions of the tectonic plates have revealed those valleys that were covered by thousands of meters of younger rocks. 

As if a chest were opened, the Ischigualasto basin tells the story of what happened back then on Planet Earth. Fortunately, not everything is gone. Traces of ancestors have been discovered step by step. Traces of vegetable and animal life can be found giving tourists a chance to know and study the origin of life on this planet. The name of the valley as it is known nowadays derives from that expression, because of combination water and wind erosion carved different silhouettes day after day. The formations like "The Worm", "Painted Valley", “The Sphinx”, “The Bowling Field”, “The Submarine”, “The Mushroom” and the “Red Ravines” can be found. 

The landscape is magnificent and spectacular for tourists from all over the world that come to San Juan to enjoy this pre-historic treasure. At night time, when the full moon is glowing, the moonlight turns Ischigualasto even stranger and far more captivating. Wandering about the Painted Valley, observing the capricious forms the Submarine, the Sphinx, the Flags, the Mushroom, and stepping on these dinosaur lands in the silence of the night is an exclusive and memorable experience, not only for the sight but also for the spirit. The inspiring scenery and perfect beauty are inimitable and completely different from other natural areas in Argentina. 

The mushroom, the submarine, the parrot and Alladin's lamp, are names that have been given to the weird and irregular grey-green rock formations found here. They were formed by the constant action of wind erosion which, like some mad artist, sculpted the bizarre shapes over a period of millions of years. It may be a surprise to discover that dinosaurs are not the most numerous or the largest of animals to be discovered here. Much more common are the fossils of Rhyncosaurs and cynodonts. This has led to speculation that when dinosaurs first appeared on the planet they were not a desperately successful creature to begin with.

Ischigualasto, moon valley, Argentine from keltoi on Vimeo.