This photo cannot be taken anymore. In its accessible times, including 2014 when we were there, the legendary cave along Iceland’s stunning southern coastline was far enough above the low-tide line to be accessible freely for most of most days, and even parts of others when wave action was high. Since, a combination of rockfalls and severe beach erosion have removed safe access, with ocean water going into the cave almost continuously as of early 2026, per news reports. Too bad — not only was this a notable tourist attraction, but a powerful testament to the forces of the same ocean that again sloshes into the cave and are likely to carve it out and undermine it some more. These same “water works” also created the famous sea stacks that lay almost directly behind me while viewing the cave. Columnar basalt that forms the cave walls and roof cooled as solidified magma underground, in much the same manner as that forming Devil’s Tower in Wyoming.
1 SW Vik, Iceland (14 Aug 14) Looking ENE
63.403, -19.0418