A road through the moss to the Lakagígar craters in Iceland, the source of the eruption in 1783 that killed hundreds of thousands of people around the World, sparked the French Revolution and made the Mississippi River freeze down to New Orleans.
Photo by Snorri Gunnarsson.
(via torace)
Green dýjamosi moss
Don’t you just want to stick your head into that ice cold stream and take a big sip? Much of Iceland is covered with moss. This hyper green variant is called dýjamosi. It grows in extremely wet places like around waterfalls or in low lying marshy areas. The name literally means “bog moss” and you should never step into dýjamosi as you can be almost sure that you will sink into deep underlying mud. As you can see in the foreground of this picture, water often collects into large droplets on top of the moss. Also take a look at this picture where it the hyper green is in stark contrast with the black volcanic sand.
Photo by Aðalheiður who has a lot more great Iceland pictures.
(via nicelandic)
This picture is from the Laugavegur trail in Iceland. The mountain pictured is Stóra Súla (E. Big Column), on the section between the Hvanngil and Emstrur huts. The hyper green moss along the river banks is typical for Iceland. We call it dýjamosi (E. bog moss). It will often cover considerable areas and although it may look stable it can typically swallow an unexperienced hiker up to his waist. This is a much more entertaining experience for his companions than himself.
Here is another picture of dýjamosi on a black sand in south Iceland. Also check out other great pictures of Iceland by Alex Nail.
(via srce)
The tales the mossy lava can tell you
Moss and lava fields go together like egg an bacon. There’s a lot you can read out of the moss on lava fields. You can roughly guess the age of a lava field by the thickness of the moss on it. I would reckon this lava flowed a few hundred years ago. It is actually about the thickness of the moss in the Lakahraun lava field from 1783, might very well be that lava field.
The color of the moss also changes a lot depending on the weather in the past week or so. Lush green moss such as this indicates lots of recent rain. Different shades of greenish to gray indicate dryer weather.
Since moss is really slow growing, please take care with it. It can handle some traffic, but not much. So if you are in a place that receives lots of traffic, avoid walking on the moss. Otherwise always tread lightly. And by lightly I mean, use the moss walking technique. Place your foot straight down and lift it straight up in each step. Avoid tearing up the moss as you roll your feet forward. It is very easy to tear it up in every step, but also easy to avoid.
Moss takes hundreds of years to grow and old wheel tracks last for decades if not centuries, so of course, never ever drive off road.
(Source: timpogo)
This is Dýjamosi. This lush hypergreen moss often grows in very wet spots of generally vegetation free areas. In most cases if you step on it, you will sink in deep.
(by Ben H.)
See those tracks in the moss? This is why you should never drive off road in Iceland except in deep snow in the winter. Those tracks can last for decades or centuries in the delicate Icelandic nature.
(Source: Flickr / ystenes, via 144c)
Part of the Laugavegur trek in Iceland.
Iceland - Landmannalaugar (by Mathieu Noël (no time for anything … ))
This is part of the Laki volcano. The Lakagígar are actually a 25 kilometer long row of craters in South Iceland. They were formed in an eruption that went on in the years 1783-1784. The lava flow from this fissure is the greatest flow of lava that has flowed in historical times on Planet Earth. Around 12 cubic kilometers of lava flowed over 580 square kilometers of land.
The period during and after this eruption is perhaps the hardest time in Icelandic history. Very few people were killed directly by the eruption, but about 10.000 people (20% of the population) were killed in the famine that resulted of 80% of sheep dieing, 60% of horses and 50% of cattle.
The effects were not only in Iceland. The ash cloud had a worldwide effect causing crops to fail all over Europe. The University of Cambridge estimates that 10.000 people in England died as a result. Effects were also strong in France potentially adding to the effects that caused the French Revolution.
