The Highlands of Iceland
© Kevin Krautgartner/Offset by Shutterstoc
Up in the Highlands
There's a good chance the occupants of that car you can see in this photo, winding along a remote highway in the Highlands of Iceland, won't encounter any other visitors to this desolate region. Accessible only during the summertime, roads across the Icelandic Highlands pass through mostly uninhabited volcanic desert. Frequent volcanic activity in the area creates a porous topsoil full of chemical compounds that aren't conducive to plant growth. Besides, much of the rainfall is quickly absorbed so plant life only appears alongside glacial rivers. Despite this seemingly unwelcoming environment, adventurous travelers come to the Highlands every summer to see firsthand an ecosystem so unearthly that NASA conducted training missions here for some of its Apollo astronauts.
Related Images
A Diego Rivera painting to celebrate Labor Day
The Milky Way seen from Canyonlands National Park in Utah
Blue walls of Chefchaouen, Morocco
A carving of artist W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp in the Pura Meduwe Karang temple in Bali, Indonesia
The Vochol, a Volkswagen Beetle decorated with traditional Huichol beadwork
Mars Express image of the icy cap at Mars’ south pole
Wildflowers in bloom at Lost Dutchman State Park in Arizona
Street art from the Pasadena Chalk Festival 2013, California
Bing Today Images
