Photo Gallery :: Icelandic Lava Caves

Iceland's active volcanoes have created a series of networks of lava caves - ranging from short cavities within the lava fields, to a few extensive caves of more than 1km in length. On our recent visit we were fortunate enough to be taken to a few sites by some local cavers. Here are a few of the photos we took on an extremely wet day on the Reykjanes Peninsular in Iceland, 2010. Special thanks go to Gudni, Ragnar, Halldór and Vladimir at the Icelandic speleological society (Hellarannsóknafélag Íslands) - to Björn at www.extremeiceland.is - and to Ed and Hayley for helping put us in touch with the right people.

Ice "stalagmite" in Icelandic lava tube

Many of the Icelandic lava caves are covered by snow and ice during the winter months. In the summer, much of the ice that forms inside the cave entrances remains - often in fantastic and beautiful ice formations such as this perfect ice "stalagmite".

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