Breidavik Beach, Iceland
August 05, 2014
Photographer: Stu Witmer
Summary Author: Stu Witmer
Iceland's Breidavik Bay is surrounded by a great horseshoe-shaped ridge with the cliffs of Bjarnamupur, seen here in the distance, at the southern end. Much of the precipitation falling above the cliffs collects between the huge golden sand beach and the mainland in the sandy flats, or sandur, seen in the foreground. Remnants of the Gulf Stream pass by here and the glaciated coast of Greenland is about 250 mi (400 km) west. While this is one of the most beautiful beaches in Iceland, what draws most people out here are the birds. Just beyond Bjarnamupur the cliffs of Latrabjarg, seasonal home to thousands of nesting puffins, extend the coast about a mile (1.6 km) further west. It was well past nesting season when we visited and there were neither puffins nor tourists. We had the beach all to ourselves. Photo taken September 14, 2011.
Photo details: Camera Model: Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS; Focal Length: 5mm; Aperture: f/8.0; Exposure Time: 0.0080 s (1/125); ISO equiv: 80.