Red basalt in the cliffs of the Dyrholaey Headland, at the southern tip of Iceland

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The Dyrholaey Headland, connected to the mainland by sand bars, is a volcanic island, beginning as an underwater volcanic eruption not unlike Surtsey. Iron in the basalt was turned red by combining with oxygen in the air. Such red layers or 'interbeds' in the basalt lava flows mark soil horizons between one eruption and the next. The sea erodes the basalt cliffs. The archway giving the headland its name ('doorway hill') can be seen in the background. When its roof collapses, another sea stack will be isolated from the retreating cliffs. The basalt also displays 'spheroidal weathering' by the rain entering cracks and sculpturing the rock into round. sphere-like masses.

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Size: 5073px × 3560px
Location: Atlantic Coastline, Dyrholaey Headland, Southern Iceland
Photo credit: © robert harrison / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: archway, basalt, beach, black, cliffs, craggy, erosion, geography, geology, geomorphology, iceland, interbeds, layers, red, rocks, sea, soil, spheroidal, stack, stacks, tourism, travel, vertical, view, waves, weathering