In the 1980s the Carnival of Venice was revived and the city has become a major centre of international conferences and festivals, such as the prestigious Venice Biennale and the Venice Film Festival, which attract visitors from all over the world for their theatrical, cultural, cinematic, artistic and musical productions.

Today there are numerous attractions in Venice, such as St Mark's Basilica, the Grand Canal, and the Piazza San Marco, to name a few. The Lido di Venezia is also a popular international luxury destination, attracting thousands of actors, critics, celebrities and mainly people in the cinematic industry.

However, Venice's popularity as a major worldwide tourist destination has caused several problems, including the fact that the city can be very overcrowded at some points of the year. It is regarded by some as a tourist trap, and by others as a 'living museum'.

The competition for foreigners to buy homes in Venice has made prices rise so highly, that numerous inhabitants are forced to move to more affordable areas of Veneto and Italy, most notably Mestre.

source: Italy Photo Gallery

Guido Daniele, multimedia artist and body painter, transforms his hands into animals.

His works are famous in the world, are in favor of commercial nature. The Milanese designer leader also an abbreviation of the Animal Channel.

The slaughter of seals in the Gulf of St. Lawrence is at the top of his thoughts these days.

As for whaling under the guise of scientific research, to turn into delicious Japanese sushi on the tables. And as elephants and tigers, which are gradually disappearing from their traditional habitats.

Guido Daniele, 56, originally from Milan but Soverato of adoption, advertising designer and illustrator, is definitely an animal believed.

But does not participate in demonstrations of Greenpeace inflatable boats or hanging from the towers of a nuclear power plant.

On his way to launch a cry of alarm and pain for the dying planet is through art.

source: Images Photo Gallery

The mountain derives its name from the German words Matte, meaning "meadow", and Horn, which means "peak".

The migration of the name "meadow" from the lower part of the countryside to the peak is common in the Alps. The Italian and French names (Cervino and Cervin) come from Mons Silvius (or Mons Sylvius) from the Latin word silva, meaning forest (with again the migration of the name from the lower part to the peak).

The changing of the first letter "s" to "c" is attributed to Horace Bénédict de Saussure, who thought that the word was related to a deer (French: cerf and Italian: cervo).

Muskoxen are native to the Arctic areas of Canada, Greenland, and the United States. The Alaskan population was wiped out in the late 19th or early 20th century. Their depletion has been attributed to over hunting, but it may alternatively be because the climate had become unsuitable.

However, muskoxen have since been reintroduced to Alaska. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service introduced muskox onto Nunivak Island in 1935 as a means for subsistence living.

The species has also been introduced from Banks Island to northern Europe, including Sweden, the Dovre mountain range of Norway, and Russia and from Ellesmere Island to Eastern Canada. In the province of Quebec, muskoxen were close to extinction at one point, but have recovered after being protected from hunting.

The world population is estimated at between 80,000 and 125,000, with an estimated 68,788 living on Banks Island.

The last known muskox population outside North America lived on the Taymyr Peninsula of Siberia, and died out about 2,000 years ago.[5] The muskox was successfully reintroduced to the Taymyr Peninsula in 1975.

Los bueyes almizcleros son unos grandes amantes de sus pequeños y reaccionan protegiéndolos con gran agresividad del ataque de sus principales depredadores (aparte del hombre), los lobos. Cuando éstos atacan, los animales adultos adquieren una formación en círculo, con los cuernos hacia fuera, mientras los individuos jóvenes se protegen en su interior. El círculo va rotando poco a poco con el fin de que no sean siempre los mismos ejemplares quienes hagan frente al acoso de los atacantes.

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The fossils are testimonies from the past. They evidence the existence of organisms in other geological eras and they are present at different levels in the earth layers.

The fossilization process, which takes place along millions of years, consists basicaly in the replacement of the remains of an organism components by minerals.

This way, the fossils have the same shape as the original organism or bone but they are no longer made of the same material. They are heavier and their color and texture vary widely. Most fossils are very similar to rocks, but others may be more exotic, such as opals or amber.

Sometimes, fossils are not remains but evidence of the activity of live beings, such as burrows, footprints, track ways or perforations.

Some fossil findings have taken place by chance. But, as most fossils are generally buried, it may be tough to decide the exact point for an excavation.

A large number of fossils have been found in Patagonia. This land, which is among one of the greatest paleontological centers in the world, seems to be a real Cretaceous park, not only of land animals, but also of sea species, which are estimated to have dominated the waters of the area some 80 million years ago.

Millions of revellers around the world bade farewell to 2011 and celebrated the start of a new year, watching spectacular firework displays in Sydney, Tokyo, and Dubai, and the famous crystal-ball drop in New York.

New York

Tokyo

Rio de Janeiro

Sydney

Rome

Dubai

Moscow

Walpapers.

These High quality New year 2012 Wallpaper/ Images collection from squidoo

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I'm Not Very good in Photoshop. So, I have edited a Mac version image for new year 2012. Original image from 1920x1080

These High quality New year 2012 Wallpapers/ Images from bestdesignoptions which were obtained from deviantart

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The Dakar Rally is a unique human exploit of which the history has been created in the heart of some of the world’s most stunning deserts and belongs to the world of the greatest sports challenges of our time. Both a motor race and an orienteering challenge, the Dakar Rally pits some of the world’s greatest long- distance rally drivers against amateur competitors, for whom the race is often the culmination of their dreams and who come to take up the challenge with their motorcycles, quad bikes, cars and trucks. The challenge attracts competitors of more than 50 nationalities, who are watched on television by over a billion viewers in 190 countries.

Like the mountains or the oceans, the wide open spaces inspire “the adventurers”. Entering the Dakar is, in a certain way, like climbing Everest, sailing round the globe or rowing round the world. The places on the final podium represent an exceptional challenge, sometimes that of a lifetime. Apart from the rankings, all the competitors are motivated by this resolute desire, an almost crazy dream. Whether they are motorcyclists, car and truck drivers, or quad bike riders, they all share this ambition, a feeling that brings them together. The tradition of solidarity, a principle which is one of the pillars of the “Dakar Spirit”, stems from this shared passion: despite the linguistic barriers, on this level the competitors all speak the same language.

Founded in Africa, where it built up its legend, the Dakar is by nature attracted to the unknown. The discovery of regions, countries and continents, a rationale of the event, has pushed the Dakar to take a new direction. The Sahara fascinated competitors for almost thirty years, but now the Dakar is attempting to conquer other continents, with an unfailing will to surprise. Having become a nomadic international event, the Dakar draws on a thirst for interaction and the open-mindedness of its competitors, who all crave to explore the deserts of the world.

Buenos Aires is World Famous for its nightlife, glamourous restaurants, trendy nightclubs and fashionable bars. The Capital is seething with restaurants and drinking dens of all shapes & sizes. From the intimacy of the small DJ Bars to the pulsating floors of the major nightclubs, Buenos Aires has something to offer everyone.

Such is the wide choice of nightlife in Buenos Aires that it can often be overwhelming deciding where to go out, hence we have made a guide as to what each district offers in terms of restaurants, bars&cafe's, nightclubs, live music and festivals.

Situated 80 kilometers away from San Agustín del Valle Fértil through Nº 151 Provincial Route and 300 kilometers away from San Juan Capital City, Valle de La Luna Provincial Park is a clay formation with a great variety of colors and shapes, slopes with many layers of minerals and sediments that let you clearly see the evolution of Earth.

Nobody would have thought that a huge lake surrounded by thick vegetation where a great variety of species grew and where the breeding of many animals flourished, would currently be a great desert with little rains, strong winds and high temperatures.

On the south shore of Río Pilcomayo, in the northeast corner of Formosa Province is Parque Nacional Río Pilcomayo, one of the great pearls of Argentina’s national park system. This reserve protecting a 52,800-hectare (130,472-acre) swatch of Wet Chaco ecosystem has been a Ramsar site since 1992.

Its Q’om name is Satalik-Lateday, Mirror of Clear Waters. Three estuaries, or esteros, lace its interior: Zanjita, which drains into the Rio Pilcomayo, and Poí and Von Sastrow, which flow into Laguna Blanca.

The Red Bull X-Alps is the world's most spectacular adventure race and returns in 2011 for a fifth edition. Thirty International athletes race non-stop through the Alps to the Mediterranean Sea, with just a paraglider and a pair of hiking boots to help them, their every move tracked by advanced technology and broadcast to an audience of millions.

Now established as one of the toughest and most spectacular adventure races in the world, the Red bull X-Alps will be even more exciting for its fourth running in 2009.

Thirty athletes will negotiate turning points in Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland andFrance before finishing on the beautiful Mediterranean Coast.

The race goes on day and night, sun or snow, until the first pilot reaches the goal. Athletes are forbidden any kind of motorised transport but can select a supporter to help supply food, equipment and information.

Here is film from Red Bull X-Alps 2007 : X-Alps The 20World's Most Extreme Race.AVI

This film tracks the progress of Ulric and Ruth Jessop, the first-ever Scottish entrants in 2007 Red Bull X-Alps.

BASIC RULES:
* Athletes travel only by flying with their paragliders or by foot.
* A paraglider, harness, rescue parachute, helmet, emergency signal rocket, reflector belt and tracking device must be carried at all times.
* Athletes may chose any route they like, but must pass all turnpoints.
* Each athlete has only one supporter to look after them.
* Travel through tunnels that connect valleys are prohibited.
* International Visual Flight Rules (VFR) air regulations must be obeyed.
* The race stops 48 hours after the winner arrives in goal.

The first Red Bull X-Alps, held in 2003, opened up a new dimension in adventure racing. Event inventor, mastermind and former professional paraglider Hannes Arch, said at the time, “This is much more than just an Alpine crossing; it's an adventure, an expedition and at the same time a competition.“

Seventeen athletes braved the 800km journey from Austria’s Dachstein glacier but only three managed to make it all the way to the finish in Monaco via three turning points at the Zugspitze in Germany, France’s Mont Blanc and Mont Gros.
Kaspar Henny a 35 year-old Swiss grabbed an early lead and held onto it for the 11 days and 23 hours it took him to complete the course.

David Dagault (FRA) was second, over five hours behind and Stefan Bocks (GER) was third.

Surreal photo is basically displays of a designer’s rich imagination of subjects which then injected into real pictures.

Most of these surreal pictures are captivating be it pleasant or not because it is not what we experience in our daily life hence it is out of norm.

Given it is not an event we could not possibly experience, it leaves a huge dimension for viewers to interpret what does the designer was trying to convey through their work.

This is what makes surreal photos a challenge for the designers and in the same time, an awesome adventure for the viewers. Yes, all of that in a picture.

source: Images Photo Gallery

Many would assume that the icy depths of the sea off the northwestern coast on Russia would have little to offer nature photographers. 


But one man has braved the freezing elements to capture the beautiful monsters of the deep who display a surprising variety of colourful speices.


Marine biologist Alexander Semenov spent two years in the hostile environment at the ultra-remote White Sea Biological Station to create his bizarre collection of images.

Up close and personal: A skeleton shrimp shows its pincers and antennae. It most likely male because of its elongated head

Give us a kiss: A Ragworm showing its mouthparts. They are marine annelid worms that burrow in wet sand and mud using parapodia (limb-like outgrowths)

The lead undetwater photographer breaks through arctic sea ice dropping into -2degree water from a -30 degree world above.
He has documented striking differences between these species who have evolved cut off from their cousins that live in warmer waters elsewhere in the world.   


Mr Semenov said the marine fauna of this cold sea bears no resemblance to anything he has seen before.


'It's a unique place for marine biologists,' he said.


'When I went underwater for the first time I was absolutely shocked. White Sea showed me another world with it's own aliens, and some of them were really amazing creatures.'

Sea butterfly: A swimming predatory marine sea snail. They have two wing-like outgrowths (lower right) derived from their foot, which they continually flap to swim through the water

Sea angel: A small swimming sea slug makes it way through the -2C waters

Included in his works are the bright pink skeleton shrimp, the weird sea angel, and the odd sea butterfly - a type of snail that spins a web to capture small creatures.   


'Most of these creatures are known and seen only by a few specialists and marine biologist,' Mr Semenov said.

'They all live in cold seas in remote regions inside the Arctic circle.
'These are hard places to reach for most divers - under ice in low temperatures.

'Some of these creatures are so small divers just can't notice them and see them with the naked eye.'

Sandworms: These marine worms move through the water suing their bristles

A marine worm fluorescing: Polychaetes are a class of annelid (segmented) worms. Each segment has a pair of fleshy limb-like appendages (parapodia) which help them to move.

The White Sea, where these pictures were taken, is one of the most remote and untouched places left on Earth.


Located in the north east Atlantic Ocean it is twice the size of Denmark and is only recently being explored by divers attracted by it's crystal clear waters that allow divers to see an astonishing 40 metres underwater.

A cousin to coral: The tentacled feeding structures of a Hydrozoan, which is related to corals and sea anemones

Meet the neighbours: Amphipod crustaceans shelter amongst the tentacled feeding structures of a hydrozoan colony.

Mr Semenov's biological research station is 12 miles from the nearest village, which means if he runs short of supplies he can't simply jump in the car and drive there - because no road exists.


'Our station is a educational and research centre,' he said.


'Communication with the nearest village is possible only by boat during the summer and snow mobile during the winter.


'But our location is an ideal place to study the marine environment.


'The creatures I photograph are so bright and unusual that you want to explore and learn something about their lives.'

True blue: A Polychaete marine worm that is made up of segments and displays a startling blue flash

Sonic hedgehog of the seas: This is a nudibranch - which is a shell-less marine mollusc.

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Known as the “Seven Lakes Route”, we will go along the section of National Route 234 that joins the districts of San Martín de los Andes and Villa La Angostura.

We will look at the main tourist corridor in the area, known world-wide for the matchless beauty of its landscapes, with panoramic natural vantage points, lakes, rivers and countless attractions opening up in front of those who are willing to discover, together with us, the real seven lakes route.

Rather than seven, we can see eight lakes along the road without taking any detour into lateral paths and going directly from San Martín to La Angostura. From North to South, the first one is Lake Lácar and next are the Machónico, Falkner, Villarino, Escondido, Correntoso, Espejo and Nahuel Huapi.

Social news refers to websites that are very much in the trend of online community today, wherein users visit these sites to submit and vote on the news, stories, media such as images or other links posted on the site.

Basically, these social news websites that I am talking about here does one thing: to attract. Not only these give quick access with different contents, you can also connect yourself with the discussions on every topics posted. For bloggers, these sites are very much useful as great sources of traffic, as well as with users who are into viral marketing.

You can see a lot of social news websites on the internet. Most of them cover wide range of topics, and examples of this are Digg, Reddit and Mixx. Others have specific topics, those are popularly called, niche social news websites. There are also social websites that compiles bookmarks of users to share it to other users. You can find more examples on each type below. I compiled here not only social news websites that are about design or technology, but also social news websites about different topics such as entertainment, fashion, environment, politics, etc.

1. Digg

Digg is a social news website that is founded by Kevin Rose. In this site, the members vote the news, stories, and the like either up or down. When a person diggs, it means you promote the specific link. Mostly, the topics you can find on this website are about entertainment, technology, politics and others. It also has a section for videos and images.

2. Reddit

Reddit is owned by Condé Nast Digital and the users of this social news website are called redditors, sounds cool huh? This popular website contains different kinds of news, and it also has section of topics called subreddits that focus on topics such as politics, programming and business. This also has a feature wherein users receive karma for submitting popular articles.

3. Designbump

Designbump is a social news website that is dedicated for designers. Aside from it has a user-friendly interface, this cool website gives you the way to promote your website and boost traffic by adding the simple tools they provided on your site.

4. Mixx

Mixx offers general topics you can share and find relating to business, technology, sports and many more. You can use this social news website to tailor your content categories, tags, specific users and groups.

5. Delicious

Delicious is a social bookmarking website where you can share, store and discover great bookmarks. With this website, you can easily share those bookmarks with your friends, colleagues and students. Try it, it is free to use!

6. Design Float

Design Float is a niche social news website that covers the topic, design. It is one of the leading social news website over the web.

7. Pixel Groovy

Pixel Groovy is a community driven website where you can find and share computer learning resources and tutorials. The goal of this website is to create a place where people, especially designers can find reliable and informative resources.

8. Plime

I find Plime a very interesting social news website. Here you can edit weird or any links you find very interesting. Users also earn what they called, karma when other members vote on their actions.

9. Now Public

Now Public is a social news website that is focused on the citizen journalism. Each user who joins the site has their own profile blog where they can upload their videos to share, images and even news.

10. Care2

Care2 makes a difference from others because it focuses more on environment topics. Also, it has a service where you can shop and portion of the sales is donated for environmental causes.

11. NewsCloud

Are you a Facebook addict and loves to update yourself with the things going on around you with different news? Why don’t you try NewsCloud? NewsCloud provides software solutions for Facebook where it is possible to that you can share news, stories on your Facebook page or profile.

12. SWiK

SWiK gives users resources for open source software. This website contains information, guides and news about thousands of open source projects.

13. Sphinn

A social website where you can search and interact with marketers. This allows you to share and discover news and stories, take part with the discussions, and discover events of interest and network with other users.

14. Metafilter

Metafilter is a community weblog wherein users share links and discuss interesting links, websites or topics.

15. Slashdot

Slashdot, a site that sends a large traffic, covers mostly topics that is related to technology but also has several topics you can search on. You can also submit news, stories and if they are approved, they will be published on the site.

16. EarthFrisk

EarthFrisk is a social news website that combines social network and group features with a digg-style voting depending on the topics that you want such as politics, health, entertainment and business.

17. Kirtsy

For users who are searching for a social news website with several topics to explore on, technology, entertainment, design, food, then kirtsy is the best site for you. Name it, they have it.

18. Entirely Open Source

This website is entirely an open source social news website. It features open source news, tips, inspirations and the like from projects and communities all over the web.

19. Free Software Daily

Free Software Daily is designed for users, who are in search of free and open source software community with news, articles depending on your interest.

20. Dzone

Dzone is a website that has a compilation of links shared by its users dedicated for developers. Mostly topics covered here are about web design and programming.

21. Tweako

A user-powered social news website that provides guides, tutorials, news about computer, technology, and the internet.

22. Blog Engage

Engage with bloggers by submitting your blog articles in this website, then it will be reviewed by all users and will be promoted by the administrator or the visitors of the website.

23. I Am Bored

Are you bored? Try to visit this social news website that covers several and general topics that focuses on weird and offbeat news.

24. Chictini

Chictini is a social news website that covers everything you want to know about fashion. So basically, it is for women who are into the world of fashion and style.

25. Small Business Brief

This is a niche social news website that focuses on small business topics including marketing, sales, management and entrepreneurship.

26. Auto Spies

Are you a car lover? Be updated with different news and find reviews and photos of different automotive and vehicles.

27. Grow News

Grow News a social green news website where members can submit and share to others their interesting green news stories.

28. I Like Totally Love It

This website which has a cute domain name gives users to post products they purchase online and members can vote on each if they love it or not. Top loved products are the ones posted on the front page of the site. As what the mission of the website says, democratize marketing. For them, shopping is democratic. No one here should be pushed to market a product.

29. Value Investing News

Want to be updated with stock and investment news? Join in the community of Value Investing News. In here, you can submit your news or stories and bid on which to publish on the front page.

30. Technorati

Technorati is designed help bloggers succeed by collecting, highlighting, and distributing on the global online conversation. A blog search engine that caters different niches such as business, technology, sports, politics, etc.

31. Clipclip

Have you ever created a scrapbook? Where you will cut out articles and photos then paste it on your scrapbook? So basically that’s how clipclip works, the difference is this one is online. When you find something on a website, highlight it, then use their tool to add it on your online scrapbook.

32. Newsvine

Newsvine is a social news website that is a community driven news, stories and opinions. Users of this site have their own blogs where they can write articles and interact with other users by commenting on other stories.

33. Daytipper

Daytipper is an online resource for useful advice, tips, tricks, techniques and hints you can learn about buying, grooming, selling, etc. This is dedicated mainly for women, especially for mothers. But others can also grab some good tips here, too!

34. Tipstrs

This social news website is a collection tips, hints and advice given by different users on several categories.

35. DotNetKicks

This community-based social news website, DotNetKicks.com, specialized in development techniques, programming tools and technologies most especially about .NET and ASP.

36. Tip’d

Tip’d is a website that is dedicated for users who love reading articles about finance, investments and business. Users of this site can vote on stories by clicking the “Tip it” button and also you can comment on the links on each story.

37. Stylehive

Stylehive is an online community for people who loves fashion, style and shopping. In here, you can view style muses and follow them to discover their latest fashion.

38. Dealigg

Are you the type of person who likes buying bargains? Then Dealigg is the best website for you. As what they would describe their website, it is a social bargain hunting. The objective of this website is to publish the most voted style or products with the best of online shopping such as Amazon, Buy.com that are on bargain. The good thing about this social news website is it is run by shoppers and is updated every now and then.

39. Fark

Fark is not a web blog. It is a news aggregator and an edited social networking news site. Users submit news from different websites and with different topics, and then Fark picks funny and weird news and not-news of the day.

40. Muti

Muti is a social website that is dedicated to the content of interest to Africans or those interested in Africa. Africans and other interested people can vote on each link if they like it or not.

41. Inbound

Inbound Marketing is a community for marketers. It is a place where you, marketers can learn, interact and share your knowledge with one another.

42. Linkfilter

As what the name of the website implies, it is a link filter. Users of this social website give their comments and rank each links on many levels. Great thing about this website is it is moderated by the users itself.

43. BuzzFlash

BuzzFlash is a user-driven progressive political news website that allows you to submit a story that may be reviewed by all visitors and let them vote if it will be prompted on the front page or not. When you submit a story, it remains in the pending Buzz queue until it receives enough votes to be promoted to the main page.

44. P2PViNE

P2PViNE is a social bookmarking news site that gives latest news in file sharing news and peer-to-peer information.

45. TreeHugger

TreeHugger provides news, solutions, and product information that are about the environment. It is the leading media outlet dedicated to driving sustainability mainstream.

Ani – some call it the City of 1001 Churches, others the City of Forty Gates. Yet no one has called it home for more than three centuries.

Abandoned by its once prosperous and powerful inhabitants, it is situated on the Turkish side of a militarised zone between the border of Turkey and Armenia.

The city of Ani is no stranger to death, destruction and desertion.

It is a ghost city today but once its Armenian inhabitants numbered close to 200 thousand. In its heyday it was a metropolis which rivalled Constantinople, Cairo or Baghdad as a center of culture and enterprise. Although it was never on traditional trade routes its sheer size and power commanded visits by merchants from all directions. Yet what happened to reduce this once magnificent and regionally dominant city to virtually dust?

The city is the victim of a colossal and centuries old struggle for power between various factions in the region. Founded in the fourth or fifth century AD the following millennium saw Armenians, Kurds, Georgians, Mongols and Turks struggle for and ascend to power in the city-state.

Almost each time a faction rose to power the city was ransacked almost to the point of obliteration. Ani finally wheezed its metaphorical last breath by the middle of the eighteenth century, exhausted to extinction, as it were, by the constant struggle for supremacy over its dominion.

The city was originally Armenian and the territory on which it stands is still disputed between modern day Turkey and Armenia. It was first mentioned in the annals of the Armenian Kamsarakan dynasty in the fifth century AD. They were one of the seven great houses of Parthia and their origins went back to the Persian Arsacid – a major Iran based power.

Mývatn is a shallow eutrophic lake situated in an area of active volcanism in the north of Iceland, not far from Krafla volcano.

The lake and its surrounding wetlands have an exceptionally rich fauna of waterbirds, especially ducks.

The lake was created by a large basaltic lava eruption 2300 years ago, and the surrounding landscape is dominated by volcanic landforms, including lava pillars and rootless vents (pseudocraters).

The effluent river Laxá is known for its rich fishing for Brown Trout and Atlantic Salmon.

Lake Mývatn was created about 2300 years ago by a large fissure eruption pouring out basaltic lava. The lava flowed down the Laxárdalur Valley to the lowland plain of Aðaldalur where it entered the Arctic Ocean about 50 km away from Mývatn.

The Crater Row  that was formed on top of the eruptive fissure is called Þrengslaborgir (or Lúdentarborgir) and has often been used as a textbook example of this type of volcanic activity. There was a large lake in the area at the time, a precursor of the present-day Mývatn. When the glowing lava encountered the lake some of the water-logged lake sediment  was trapped underneath it. The ensuing steam explosions tore the lava into small pieces which were thrown up into the air, together with some of the lake.

By repeated explosions in a number of locations, groups of craters built up and now dominate the landscape on the shore of Lake Mývatn and also form some of the islands in the lake. This type of lava formation is known as pseudocraters or rootless vents. A group of such craters at Skútustaðir on the south shore of the lake is protected as a natural monument and is frequented by tourists.

Other pseudocrater groups in this lava field are in the Laxárdalur Valley and Aðaldalur. The formation of pseudocraters halted the advance of the lava in some places creating temporal lava lakes. The lava eventually drained from the lakes, leaving behind a forest of rock pillars. The biggest of these formations is named Dimmuborgir. At another place, Höfði, the pillars stand in the lake water. The lava created by the Þrengslaborgir eruption is known as the Younger Laxá Lava.

The Mývatn district lies on the western border of the volcanic zone which cuts across north-eastern Iceland from north to south and is an extension of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. All geological formations are quite recent, dating from the Ice Age and postglacial times.