IN ICELAND, YOU CAN’T JUST have a stunning lake. No, it also has to be inside of a volcanic caldera. And when even that isn’t enough, the most showy nation in the world offers Kerid Crater Lake, a nearly neon-blue lake located inside a volcano and surrounded by rare red volcanic rock.
Located in southern Iceland along the so-called Golden Circle, Kerid is unique among crater lakes in that its caldera likely didn’t form from an explosion as most do. According to theory, the lava in the volcano’s center simply ran out and collapsed, creating the Kerid volcano. No matter the minute geological details that resulted in the lake’s formation, its vivid rainbow of colors appears otherworldly.
In addition to the bright, sapphire-colored waters, the steep slopes of the caldera’s bowl are almost entirely covered in red volcanic rock. There is one, less-steep side of the slope that is covered in rich green moss, as though the lake weren’t colorful enough.
Kerid, however, changes from a bustling location to a focal point of Icelandic bleakness and desolation throughout the winter. In actuality, it’s just different in the winter, but no less stunning or striking.
The lake itself freezes over and becomes a giant ice rink for the most adventurous tourists. The rest of the crater, like the surrounding landscape, is caked in ice and snow. Though bleak, it’s perhaps easier to feel the vastness and raw power of the natural forces that govern Iceland.
