“Jokulsarlon” A Popular Glacial Lake in Iceland

Jökulsárlón is also called "glacial river lagoon" actually a large glacial lake in southeast Iceland, on the edge of Vatnajökull National Park. It is located at the head of the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier; it established into a lake after the glacier started receding from the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The lake size has grown since the glaciers are melting, and now it is 1.5KM away from the ocean edge and covers an area of almost 18 Kilometers. In 1975, the lake was about 8 kilometers in area and now it has reportedly stands at 18 km2 at the edge of the glacier tongue. It is well renowned lake in Iceland and one of deepest lake in the country. The depth of lake is over 248 meters as glacial retreat extended its boundaries, and increased fourfold since 1970’s. It is regarded as one of natural wonders in Iceland.

The Lake can easily view from Highway 1 between Hofn and Skatafell, and appears as a ghostly procession of luminous blue icebergs. The lake has been featured in many Hollywood movies & reality TV series. However Iceland has issued a postage stamp of this stunning lake in 1991. However the tongue of the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier is a major attraction for tourists. The Jökulsárlón Landowners Association represents the owners of the land property Fell, which covers the Jökulsárlón, also known as the Glacier Lake. This property is leased out for filming or any other commercial activity as required. It is also famous as the "Tourist Conveyor belt". Though walking on the shore, isolated large blocks of icebergs can be seen on the black sand beach. It is notable point of current retreat rate of Vatnajökull, it is expected that there will possibly be a deep fjord where Jökulsárlón is now in the near future. This retreat is also posing a significant threat to the National Highway Route 1 of Iceland. The lagoon is 75 kilometers to the west of Höfn town and 60 kilometers east of Skaftafell. It is accessible by the ring road, Route 1 that goes across the lake, and where parking facilities have been provided for visitors. Therefore, a coffer dam was contructed near the Glacial River Bridge in order to build a proective measure of stone boulders to prevent any erosion.

Well, this coffer dam enabled the Icelandic road administration to create workable access for the power shovel digger to place the row of stone protective measures, which would also divert the icebergs from hitting the bridge pillars and thus avoid damage to the structure features. The lake is filled with fish, and seals gather in winter to catch the fish. A huge number of sea birds i.e. arctic terns, trying to catch herring, trout, salmon and other fish and krill. In the summer season the dark color white skuas have their nests on the lake's shores, which are naturally very aggressive "pirates of the seas", harass other birds as big as gannets. Due to natural aggression they’d like to kill and eat smaller birds such as puffins. Even gannets are not afraid from human beings and cannot tolerate human beings close to their nests. These birds migrate from their wintering grounds off the coasts of Spain and Africa.

In 1985, the premiere of the James Bond movie A View to a Kill marked the start of commercial boat tours on the lake. Guðbrandur Jóhannesson started the tours on Jökulsárlón. Jóhannesson, who today owns and operates the company Vatnajökull travel, operated the tours for the first two years. The company has employs about 30 seasonal employees, which has carried 60,000 to 70,000 passengers annually; since the first commercial boat tour, about 900,000 tourists have taken the excursion. The popularity of lake has been boosted day by day due to TV and Media coverage. If you’re visiting Iceland, then it’s a must see place for you.

The Nevado Chachani Peru

The Nevado Chachani is the highest of the mountains near the city of Arequipa in southern Peru. Due to low precipitation in the area, the Chachani does not have permanent ice cap or glaciers. Therefore; climbing this mountain is extremely popular and several tourist agencies offers guidance trips to the summit. However the altitude is considered challenging for those folks who are not fully acclimatized. Most of the climbers take northern side route. As the trek is at a top off point and can reached in two and half hours by four wheel drive vehicle driving west around Chachani and turning off from the main highway near Pampas Cañahuas, or heading north from Arequipa between Misti and Chachani. The average total climb time from base camp ranges from six to nine hours, with a two-to four-hour descent.

Moreover base camp is at approximately 5,200 metres and there is another higher camp often called “Camp Azulfrera” located at about 5,400 metres. The route begins with the ascent to the Angel Col before traversing the El Angel Mountain itself. At that point climbers ascend the face of Fatima Mountain in a Zig-Zag pattern before making another traverse on the Fatima Mountain. Thus only then can the summit of Mount Chachani be seen. From there, climbers need to make the final ascent on the face of Chachani all the way to the top of the mountain.

Although standard route needs crampons and an ice axe, but does not need roping up, as there’re no large crevasses on Chachani. Two traverses over relatively steep terrain constitute the foremost challenges on the way to the summit. The final push to the summit is a very steep scree slope, which runs for a fast descent back to the first traverse. In the recent years, the amount of snow on Chachani has reduced radically, so for several months of the year there may be slight snow on the mountain in October and November 2010, there was no snow at all, and the ascent could be made without crampons or ice axes. Climbers must to check on the snow conditions beforehand.

Russell Falls Tasmania Australia

One of the most accessible, and beloved, waterfalls in Tasmania and could have been one of favorite spot. It is definitely the best known and most popular waterfall and was often a contest between this waterfall and Liffey Falls for the title of Tasmania's most beautiful waterfall. It is actually consisted of two main drops, but it was the satisfyingly segmented and vertical appearance along with its size that really drew the camera clicks from us and just about every other visitor who shared the experience at the falls. Russell Falls is located in the Central Highlands region of Tasmania, Australia. The Russell Falls are situated on the eastern boundary of Mount Field National Park, 100 metres downstream of the Horseshoe Falls, around 70 KM northwest of Hobart via the Brooker and Lyell highways. The nearest populated place is the village of Maydena which is 11km away with a small population and nearest sealed road to Russell Falls is the Lyell Highway 15.2km away.

They were first named the Brownings Falls when it was discover in 1856, but were recognized as the Russell Falls after 1884, by at that time they were already a popular tourist attraction. The Falls Reserve was established in 1885 and in 1899 the Russell Falls were selected as one of eight images to be used on a set of pictorial postage stamps, aimed at promoting the then colony's growing tourist industry. The Russell Falls is popular tourist attraction which is accessible by a paved walking track. The Russell waterfall descends over horizontal marine Permian siltstone benches, while the vertical faces of the falls are composed of resistant sandstone layers. Moreover at night time glow worms can be seen among the vegetation on the approach to the falls, however, you will need to turn torches off. A handrail will help you move along the track in the dark.

Prohodna: Two Eye Cave in Bulgaria

Prohodna is a karst cave in north central Bulgaria, located in the Iskar Gorge near the village of Karlukovo in Lukovit Municipality, Lovech Province. The cave is notorious for the two eye-like holes in its ceiling, famous as the Eyes of Oknata. The cave owes its name, which factually means Thoroughfare Cave or Passage Cave, to this feature. Prohodna is the best recognized attraction in the Karlukovo Gorge one of the largest karst regions in Bulgaria and a prevalent location for speleology.

The cave is formed during the Quaternary, Prohodna is 262 metres long, which makes it the longest cave passage in Bulgaria. The cave has two entrances which lie opposite one another, recognized respectively as the “small entrance” and the “big entrance”. The former is 35 metres high and the latter reaches 42.5 or 45 metres in height. The size of the big entrance makes it appropriate for bungee jumping, and it is between the widespread places in Bulgaria for that particular activity. There’re traces of prehistoric habitation in the Prohodna cave, which testify that humans lived in the cave during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic. Prohodna Cave is one of the most famous and easily accessible caves in Bulgaria. It is not by chance that local people sometimes refer to them as The Eyes of the Devil. Seen from a specific angle, they even resemble a face that looks down, and when it is wet it seems as if they are “crying”.

Prohodna is most distinguished cave due to two equal-sized eye holes in the ceiling of its middle chamber. It is believed that the eye resemble holes, is formed through erosion, let in light into the cave. The cave formation is generally identified as the Eyes of Oknata. Therefore several Bulgarian and foreign films were shot there, however the natural phenomenon was featured in the 1987 Bulgarian film “Time of Violence”. The cave lies two kilometers from Karlukovo, nearby the Karlukovo–Lukovit road. It is also reachable from Rumyantsevo, and there is a parking lot near the Small Entrance. Near Prohodna are the much longer cave Temnata Dupka, and a pathway from the Big Entrance of Prohodna leads to the Petar Tranteev National Caving House, one of the 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria.

Persons who witness this beautiful natural phenomenon are amazed and a little enthusiastic the improbable symmetry and location of the cave holes fill one with awe and a sense of mystique. In 1962 the cave was declared a natural landmark. Moreover Prohodna Cave is a popular destination for climbers, and there’re sport climbing routes divided into more than a few sectors. Their level of difficulty differs, but they’re considered to be some of the toughest in Bulgaria. Furthermore accommodation is available at the mountain hostel, but visitors are advised to make a reservation in advance. There’s a junction on the Lukovit – Karlukovo road leading to the office of the speleological society. The cave is open for travelers all year round. Therefore a guide is not required. Make sure in the cold winter days it is suitable that visitors mind the huge icicles forming on the ceiling and around the cave holes and the slippery surface.

The Valley of Ten Thousand Smoke Alaska United States

On June 6, 1912, after 5 days of violent earthquakes on the Alaska Peninsula, one of the most massive eruptions of the 20th century from a previously unidentified geological formation called Novarupta, Latin for “new eruption”. Incredibly almost sixty hours the eruption sent ash and pumice into the sky as high as 30 kilometers and dense darkened the sky over most of the Northern Hemisphere. Moreover as the ejected materials rained down back into the valley it smothered a 100-square km area with ash and pyroclastic flows up to 200 meters deep. The ash fell two feet deep in the neighboring Kodiak Island 185 kilometers away, and fumes produced acid rains 600 kilometers away, ruining brass as far away as California and Colorado. The high-altitude haze robbed the northern temperate zone of an estimated 10 % of the Sun’s heat during the summer of 1912.

Therefore four years later when National Geographic Society sent explorer Robert F. Griggs for a cover story, he amazingly found that the valley has engulfed in superheated steam escaping from thousands of fissures and cracks. The unbelievable sight prompted him to name the once vibrant valley “the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.” Now more than hundred years later, most of the fumaroles are vanished and the valley is no longer filled with smoke, but some signs of volcanic activity are still noticeable on nearby hills. Therefore; till 1960’s this region has been so scarred and it was used as training area of U.S. astronauts for moon landings. Novarupta itself is a mere bump on the Valley’s floor and rises only 65 meters above its surface. At what time explorers first entered the Valley, this was one of the hottest regions and the dome still wafts warm steam.

Moreover during the eruption a big amount of magma was drained from magma chambers below resulting in the collapse of the summit of another volcano called “Mount Katmai”, almost 10 kilometers away from Novarupta. The huge collapse produced a crater around two miles in diameter and over 800 feet deep. However the early investigators assumed that Katmai was responsible for the eruption. It was not until the 1950s that true source of the eruption was discovered. Nowadays you can take the trip from Brooks Camp out to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, where the turbulent Ukak River and its tributaries have cut deep gorges in the accumulated ash. The region is still recovering and plants have started to grow on the valley floor. The valley is not yet able to unable to sustain animal life, but moose and bear can cross it from time to time.