The Old
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A long exposure, landscape image of Öxarárfoss falls in Þingvellir, Iceland.
The Scottish weather just isn't playing ball at the moment so this one from a year ago in Iceland will have to do for today. Hardly a bad thing though. :-)
Buy this image on : Getty Images
Þingvellir National Park with Öxará river and Althing, the national parliament of Iceland. It's one of that famous places "must to visit" in Golden Circle, Iceland.
Þingvellir is a site of historical, cultural, and geological importance and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland. It lies in a rift valley that marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.
The Althing, the national parliament of Iceland, was established at Þingvellir in 930, and held its sessions there until 1798. Þingvellir National Park was founded in 1930 and became a World Heritage Site in 2004.
Thank you all for the SL group invites, very much appreciated.
This picture was taken in the game Rift :))
Another one from last Sunday at Shaldon beach. I took quite a few shots from those rocks already but it's always different. I really like the clefts in the barnacle-covered rocks - they also made sure that I stayed dry while I was kneeling on those rocks.
A north looking view of the Þingvellir rift valley in Iceland from near the Lögberg flagpole inside the National Park. On the left side of the foreground is the slope Hallurinn. Almannagjá gorge is further left outside of the photo. These features mark the west side of the rift valley. In the center of the photo is the Óxará which exits the Almannagjá by cutting threw the Hallurinn slope. It then flows down a low between faults. Fissures filled with water can be found along the banks of the river. Further to the right cliffs along other faults/fissures across the river can be seen. The bounding fault on the east side of the rift valley, Hrafnagjá, lies near the Mountains and cannot be made out in this photo. The Volcanoes and Volcanic Mountains on the horizon left to right are Ármannsfell, Lágafell, Skjaldbreiður ( a large shield volcano), Tindaskagi, Hrafnabjörg.
Visitors can be seen walking far down in the Almannagjá Gorge in Þingvellir National Park in southwest Iceland. The entire Þingvellir region is located in a rift valley created by the drifting apart of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. The tectonic plates are drifting in opposite directions at the rate of 7 mm (0.276 in) annually. Almannagjá lies along the North American plate on the west side of the valley. It measures 7.7 km long and 64 m wide at its maximum. The gorge’s cliffs lie along a fault with a maximum throw of 30-40 m. Geologists believe the Þingvellir faults (fissures) to be the surface expressions of deeply rooted normal faults. Basalt from cooled lava flows make up the cliffs and valley floor. About two thousand years ago, the basalt erupted from near by fissures. At the top of the photo, the base of Ármannsfell, a volcanic mountain, dominates the horizon.
This unique geology became the backdrop for some of Iceland's most important political and cultural events. Iceland’s settlement by The Norse began with the arrival of Ingólfur Arnarson in 874. Historians refer to the next 56 years, as ‘The Settlement Period’. Driven away from a newly united Norway under King Harald Fairhair, settlers from many different clans settled all around the island’s shores. Though the new arrivals shared an ancestral home, religion and language, difference sprang up because each clan had its own leaders and customs. Violence broke out from time to time between these clans both over their beliefs and for the limited resources their new island had to offer. In order to address these issues the people decided to hold a general assembly with members from each clan.
A man called Grímur Geitskör was given the tasks of gathering representatives from each clan and finding a suitable meeting location. As Geitskör was searching for a location, a man who owned a sheltered piece of land accessible from all corners of the country was convicted of murder, and his property turned public. This sheltered place was in the rift valley at Þingvellir. People from all over Iceland could reach the assembly place with no more than seventeen days of traveling. In 930 AD, over thirty ruling chiefs met for the first time at Þingvellir to discuss law on the island and to create a Viking commonwealth. Their meeting place was within the Almannagjá Gorge.
Þingvellir translated literally means "Assembly Plains”. The Parliament, called The Alþing, met at Þingvellir from 930 to 1798 AD. Many important historic and cultural events occurred here while Parliment was in session which makes it one of the most imporant places in Icelandic History. In 1799 the Alþing stopped meeting due to Danish colonialism. The Alþing started meeting again sporadically in 1848 in Reykjavik but was given only limited powers by the King of Denmark. It was 1907 before the Alþing started meeting regularly also in Reykjavik. In 1928, just before the 1000 anniversary of the foundation of Alþingi in 1930, the parliament made Þingvellir a National Park. When Iceland declared it independence from Denmark in 1944, the declaration was made at Þingvellir. Today, hundreds of thousands visit Þingvellir National Park every year and most of those visitors walk the Almannagjá.
References:
icelandroadguide.com/items/hakid/
guidetoiceland.is/connect-with-locals/jorunnsg/ingvellir-...
notendur.hi.is/oi/geology_of_thingvellir.htm
www.thingvellir.is/en/history-nature/history/
icelandmag.is/article/9-essential-things-know-about-thing...
Very clearly a rift in the space time continuum. Evidenced by an example of rotating the picture (go ahead, tilt your head, see the rotation). You'll note that, indeed, the picture seems to be fine at nearly any rotation. An obvious sign of a fissure in the space-time continuum.
And if you peer real close, you can see spaceships and stagecoaches dueling it out deep in the bright white heart of the door.
In the very heart of New Mexico, the pulse of a vibrant city beats. For centuries, in Albuquerque, a diversity of cultures, distinctive art, and dynamic traditions have shaped the unique history of this place.
Nestled within a rift carved by the Rio Grande—and sandwiched between the Sandia Mountains (Spanish for "Watermelon") and three volcanoes known as the "Three Sisters"—lies a historic settlement: once a farming community, later transformed into an outpost, and officially granted village status in 1706—an event that predated the founding of the United States by four generations. This village—over which the flags of three powers (Spain, Mexico, and the U.S.) have flown; which served as the arena for a harsh clash between two civilizations; and which evolved into one of the most unique and culturally significant "melting pots" in the history of the United States—is known today as Old Town Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Sandwich Harbour, Namibia.
Incredible textures come alive in the morning sun on the dunes in Sandwich Harbour.
While walking this morning I was witness to a rather large tear in the space-time continuum. No one was injured.
Nikon d810a
50mm
ISO 6400
f/2.8
Foreground: 10 x 30 seconds
Sky: 20 x 30 seconds
iOptron SkyTracker
Hoya Red Intensifier filter
This is a 30 shot panorama of the Milky Way rising above The Pinnacles Desert, 2 hours north of Perth in Western Australia.
view of Lake Manyara and Lake Manyara N.P., Tanzania Africa
One note from me before the coming turn of the year:
Before you spend lots of money for stupid New Year's fireworks, just think about it if it wouldn't be much nicer to celebrate the beginning of the New Year with a great pop of a cork of a delicious sparkling wine, prosecco or champagne.
This would save you money, it wouldn't senselessly pollute the environment and it wouldn't scare pets and wild animals !
Less can be so much more ... thanks !!!
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Eine Anmerkung von mir zum kommenden Jahreswechsel:
Bevor Ihr viel Geld für ein unsinniges Silvester-Feuerwerk ausgebt, denkt doch einmal darüber nach, ob es nicht viel schöner wäre, den Beginn des neuen Jahres mit einem Korken-Knall eines köstlichen Sekts, Proseccos oder Champagners zu feiern.
Das würde Geld sparen, die Umwelt nicht sinnlos verschmutzen und Haustiere und wilde Tiere nicht verängstigen !
Weniger kann so viel mehr sein ... Danke !!!
Tockus deckeni is a hornbill found in East Africa, especially to the east of the East African Rift, from Ethiopia south to Tanzania. It is found mainly in thorn scrub and similar arid habitats.
It was named after the German explorer Baron Karl Klaus von der Decken (1833–1865)
I have a little bit of exploration envy now... I mean.. I am 10 years older, than this country man of mine was when he passed away. And he managed to get a Bird named after him... It kinda makes me wonder what I did with my life?
32 years old, explorer, successful and well known enough to have a Dimorphic Bird named after him? In a time without technology? Wow.. *lol*
Okay.. on a more serious note: Karl Klaus Von der Decken was an impressive young man, and it is a shame that he died so young - he did die on one of his explorations in Africa, highlighting the facts that a) we have a lot to be grateful for, for those early explorations to show us the size and detail of this world, and b) it wasn't easy - back then. So, in the end: well deserved naming, and good for him to have stopped his military career in order to strive for a more peaceful path of life.
Granted,... having been a baron of good background might have helped ;)