Djúpalónssandur

A beach of black sand and pebbles inside Snæfellsjökull National Park, framed by jagged lava fields thrown out by the volcano above, with steep cliffs, sea stacks and hard Atlantic surf. The pebbles are smooth and black and known as Djúpulónsperlur, the pearls of Djúpalón, polished over centuries; visitors are asked to leave them. The Dritvíkurhraun lava field leading down to the shore holds named formations including Gatklettur, a lava arch by the water. A fishing village worked here in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the cove of Dritvík just west was among Iceland’s busiest fishing stations.