Picture Book: Gullfoss waterfall, Iceland, some 150 km NE of Reykjavik, July 2006.
When you have only a single day to visit the natural wonders of Iceland, the Golden Circle Tour is ideal. Highlights are the Gullfoss waterfall and the mid Atlantic ridge valley of the Pingvelli National Park. This is also the heartland of farming, lush green meadows with Icelandic horses and sheep.
A problem is that you will not be alone, but joined with a large tourist crowd of 5 to 10 busses and numerous cars. The weather will likely be variable, with moderate to strong wind and occasional rain showers, with temperatures of 8-12 degrees Celsius. Those who want to experience the vast emptiness should go further.
The Gulfoss waterfall appears suddenly, in between meadows. This is not what you would expect for such a large waterfall. The land is fairly flat but the river carved a deep gully in the basaltic rocks.
Gulfoss is a classic tourist site in Iceland and appears on many tourist brochures. I took the picture such that the rocks in the background are not really visible and now the waterfalll seems to have an extended triangular shape with water dropping off on both sides, "a frosted cake slice waterfall".